


PARFUM ROUGE – A tale of the night

by Denegressi



Category: Thor (Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Vampire, Complex Relationship, Freeform, M/M, human!Thor, vampire!Loki, very!AU
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-10-03
Updated: 2018-02-19
Packaged: 2018-02-19 17:56:07
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 17
Words: 30,795
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2397509
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Denegressi/pseuds/Denegressi
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When Thor, an orphan and rebellious child finds out vampires truly exist, he becomes as excited as any child his age would. However, it is only as a teenager that he starts getting some unwanted attention from said creatures...</p><p>WARNINGS - sex and violence in later chapters</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> Hi! It is the first time I post something like this... This is only a small prologue, but I have a few chapters written, but still needing work. English is not my first language so feel free to point out any mistakes. Constructive criticism is of course very welcome, as all sorts of comments are. Ah! And it is slightly inspired by True Blood :)
> 
> I hope you enjoy it!

**PARFUM ROUGE – A tale of the night**

 

_Rouge (red) -_ _any of various colors resembling the color of blood; the primary color at one extreme end of the visible spectrum, an effect of light with a wavelength between 610 and 780 nm._

 

_Parfum (perfume) -_ _a substance, extract, or preparation for diffusing or imparting an agreeable or attractive smell, especially a fluid containing fragrant natural oils extracted from flowers, woods, etc., or similar synthetic oils._

 

**Prologue**

 

There has been a lot of change in the world these past few decades. Well, it’s not that it has changed, actually. But, finally, us humans are seeing this world for what it really is.

 

There have been myths about vampires for centuries now and only 38 years ago we realised they weren’t actually myths. In fact, the infamous Vlad III, the Impaler was truly a vampire. Count Dracula existed and all those who had a glimpse of his true self were thought to be insane.

 

Well, there’s no more of that.

 

Nowadays, vampires live among us. With the development of human technology it became impossible for them to hide. The creation of an industry that fabricates synthetic human blood also helped, because that way they’re not forced to hunt us. They still do, of course… But what can we humans say when we hunt each other even more? There are more human deaths caused by other humans than by vampires. We are nor better or worse… After all, every vampire was a human once…

 

As for my part, I was a small kid when everything came out in the open so I never really knew the world without vampires. Living in an orphanage at the time maybe made things easier, too. We were all kids so we kind of reacted the same way.

 

“WOW! That’s so cool!”

 

Whereas a lot of families went crazy in different neighbourhoods, wanting to run away, us kids seemed to be in awe with the situation. But, where would they run, anyway? These blood sucking creatures were everywhere, not just in plain old Scotland… Actually, they said the biggest concentrations were in North America and Northern Asia. Why? I have no idea.

 

Anyway, I’m 44 years old now, even though I look much, much younger… And no, I didn’t turn into a vampire, but somehow being extremely close to one is preventing me from aging at a normal rate.

 

*

 

“A gin tonic, please, and a strawberry vodka for the lady.”

 

As a bartender and a natural observer – honestly, I cannot help it – I’ve seen enough cases to know that this guy is going home alone tonight. I even doubt the girl will stay long enough to drink the vodka I’m so _enthusiastically_ preparing.

 

I know him. He comes to AsGard quite frequently, in hopes to find cheap strong drinks and sex. His name is Fandral and I had to put him out a few times already. He should ask for help, really, and as for me… I should mind my own business.

 

I place the drinks in front of them and take the money.

 

By the way, my name is Thor. Orphan, surprisingly middle-aged man, Swedish descendant (or so they told me), vampire _friend_ , outcast.

 

“Thor, your shift is over, isn’t it?”

 

That’s my boss, Tony. Somehow he seems to like to watch over me… No matter how many times I tell him there’s no need to, he says he worries, and there’s nothing I can do about it. That is, except getting rid of what worries him.

 

_That vampire that enjoys being all over you._

 

What he doesn’t realise, in fact, what no one human I know realises, is that I _can’t_. But that is a long story. Considering Tony’s case however, I really don’t mind it. In fact, I like to indulge myself in it. It’s not like I had many people that got worried over me while I was growing up. And he’s a nice guy and a great boss. AsGard wouldn’t have its reputation without him.

 

“Yes, I’ll be going shortly,” I smile. My smile grows wider when I feel _him_ waiting for me. I can’t see Loki, but our connection let’s me know that he’s sitting on the bench in the garden opposite AsGard.

 

I’ve known Loki for more than twenty years now.

 

Twenty. Years.

 

For him it’s a blink of an eye though, considering he’s been around for more than a millennium. It’s strange though, the other half of my life seems so insignificant… I barely remember it anymore. Maybe the fact that I’ve spent most of it in an orphanage doesn’t help either.

 

“Bye Tony, see you tomorrow!” I say going to the back of the bar to get my stuff. When I make it to the outside, as expected, I spot Loki’s dark figure sitting on the bench.

 

Enjoying the night breeze on my face I approach him and he stands up, immediately snaking his arms around my waist. It always amazes me how thinner than me he is, how fragile he looks and yet… how he can crush a human’s skull with his bare hands in a matter of seconds. His hidden vampire strength still fascinates me as he did the first time I met him. However, a deep, attentive look into those green eyes of his can betray his apparent fragility.

 

Those are not eyes of a man in his twenties.

 

Those are the eyes of someone who has seen it all and been through it all. Patient. Enduring. Calm. _Killer_.

 

Ancient vampire eyes.

 

“Do not tell me Tony kept you there longer on purpose,” he murmurs, his nose against mine.

 

I laugh and feel him taking in the scent of my neck. Or… in better words, the scent of my blood.

 

At this point you may be asking yourself what is going on, exactly. You may be wondering what kind of… _thing_ I have with this creature. The good part is that… I am kind of excited to explain how deep our bond runs.


	2. Chapter 2

I won’t deny it. It is difficult to go back there. After all, I am a different person nowadays. However, in order to truly tell this story, I have to go back to the orphanage days.

 

Now, I’m not going to say that it was hell to live there. It wasn’t.  I’ve herd of children with family - with parents - that go through a much harder period than I went. I do know that some kids go through a lot of suffer when they are orphans but, fortunately, that wasn’t my case.

 

My tutor used to say that I was a survivor of sorts. I was a baby when they found me in a gas station. A fucking _gas station_ , of all places. I’ve discovered later that there were couples interested in adopting me, but somehow it never went forward. Then I started growing and consecutively, the chances of an adoption were narrowing everyday. I went from adorable baby, to cute blond child that every couple seemed to want into problematic teenager.

 

Well, what did they want?

 

I started smoking pot when I was 12 and lost my virginity one year later. I experimented harder drugs but, luckily, I quitted before addiction got over me. Still, I would take hallucinogenic drugs whenever I could. Nowadays I can look back and see how stupid I was.

 

Childishly, I’d decided to consider myself a victim and act like that. At school I would cause trouble, at the orphanage I would cause terror, and I was in fact, a stupid brat.

 

Honestly, I don’t know how they put up with me all those years.

 

In the meantime, the vampires came _out of the closet_ and in my eyes they were just the coolest people ever. In my mind, I had thought that perhaps I was meant to be one of them. That should be the reason why I didn’t fit anywhere.

 

It was while trying to achieve precisely that one night when I was only 15, that I got one of the biggest scares of my life.

 

I started going out at night quite young. I was an expert in running out of the orphanage unnoticed. So one night, I was alone on an empty street smoking my cigarette – I know it sounds poetic but it really wasn’t – when suddenly I spot a woman standing not so far, on the other side of the road, her back against a wall. At first I felt curious but then, when I realised she was staring at me I have to admit that the child inside me surfaced and I felt scared shitless.

 

She was dressed in a dark blue coat and black pants but something in her just looked off and scary. That is when it clicked in my head – she had to be a vampire!

 

I almost pissed in my pants.

 

At the time I had envisioned quite a different scenario for my first meeting with a vampire. That woman was looking at me in the most menacing way I could possibly think of. It really looked like she was going to rip me apart and eat me. _Literally_.

 

When she started taking slow steps towards me I froze. At 15 I was already taller than her but I knew within me that I had no chance. I don’t know how to explain but you just _feel it_ when you come face to face with a vampire.

 

“Hell, you smell so delicious…” She said in a sultry voice.

 

There… It sounds almost laughable now, but it didn’t at the time. It was the scariest thing I had heard in my life. And believe me, by that time I had already listened to some scary shit.

 

“There has been some talk about the blond, blue eyed boy whose smell has been driving Edinburgh’s vampires crazy.”

 

So… vampires had been talking about _me_. It was getting better and better.

 

“Would you let me be the first to taste you?”

 

“Do I have a choice?” I was bold enough to ask.

 

She laughed. Maniacally. If there was a cold and menacing laugh, it had to be like that.

 

“I am afraid not. I will try not to kill you, so I can taste you again. You are rare. But I can make no promises…” I could tell she was amused by that situation.

 

At the time I was shaking and cursing the moment I had escaped from the orphanage. Damn, how could I have been so stupid… I think that, for the first time in my life, I really felt that I was a child. A lonely, scared child. Defenceless…

 

“Sigyn!”

 

What?

 

The vampire turned abruptly towards the male voice, her fangs already out.

 

Shit, she looked like a monster.

 

“Not right now Loki. Go find your own _prey_.”

 

Another?! In the back of my mind I calculated what chances I had to run away if they started fighting. They were pretty low I had to admit.

 

“Go. Away.”

 

The other one said in a deep, stern voice. When he came into the lamplight and I could see his face, something stirred within me. At the time I had no idea what it was.

 

“We can share,” she insisted.

 

“Go,” he turned to her then, “away.”

 

At that she growled angrily and turned away, leaving in a hurry.

 

I felt relieved and let out the breath I hadn’t even realised I was holding. But the relief didn’t last long, though… When I looked in the direction of the male vampire, he was much closer than before so I childishly screamed and jumped back, hitting the wall behind me. That was when it hit me that, probably, he just sent her away because he wanted to kill me himself.

 

He was staring at me. No… his eyes were _boring_ into me. It seemed as if he was searching for something within me. He was only a little bit taller than me, at the time, and he was thin, but I felt so incredibly small. That green, killer gaze was making me shake and sweat. It felt like he was reading me. Then, just as he appeared, he was gone.

 

I don’t know how much time passed but next thing I knew I was sliding to the floor, my body shaking in violent sobs.

 

So much for being so strong and brave, Thor.

 

*

 

From that night on, something in me started changing. For my tutor and everyone in the orphanage, the fact that I started behaving was a huge step forward. I don’t think they doubted that anything specific had happened to cause such growth in me, but they didn’t question it. They welcomed it as if it was Christmas.

 

“Thor is doing so well lately! His grades didn’t improve much but he’s much more cooperative…” I heard my English teacher comment to the orphanage’s director once.

 

“Yes, he’s acting different. It was very sudden though… Something must have happened, but whatever it was, it was for the best.”

 

“Indeed. He’s finally using his intelligence to improve his own life instead of destroying it.”

 

In a short time, my grades had in fact improved and, against all odds, at 16 I was considered competent enough to start living on my own. My tutor supervised me of course. I had to report everything to him, from school affairs to small jobs I would get here and there. However, I was surprisingly okay with that.

 

At the age of 18 I left school and went to London with some money I had saved. I had never been there before and, as expected, it was overwhelming. Surprisingly I’ve managed to stay away from the drugs, but my rebel side came to the surface again. Maybe it was the fact that I was so far away from home, maybe it was all those people I met every night, all the drinks, all the sex, the entire wilderness…

 

But part of me knew that what released me, was the fact that I was far away from those vampires that still haunted my dreams. I had known some _sociable_ vampires in London. They hung out with regular people or in bars more specific for them. They wouldn’t bite just because, but I did feel some of them staring at me in almost the same way that Sigyn had stared back in Edinburgh. But they were… civilised. A guy I met there had told me that he was bitten once. Willingly.

 

 

Anyway, he said it was during sex with a vampire and it led to the best orgasm he’d ever had. He explained that nowadays most vampires don’t bite to kill. They had the synthetic blood so they just want to taste real blood every now and then. He convinced me that they are not very different from us humans and that he believed in a peaceful cohabitation. He believed that even romantic relationships between them and us were possible.

 

I thought he was insane.

 

However, he convinced me with the part that we can live among each other and, in consequence, I started mingling with some vampires. I wouldn’t let them touch me though, but everything seemed to be all right, anyway.

 

Little did I know what was to come.

 

I had been in London for a week, and I was, sadly, going to leave the next day. As I was taking a short cut to a pub I had been before, I felt someone’s eyes on me.

 

Could it be? No… Not again.

 

I wished I was wrong, but I wasn’t. There was no one else in that small alley so he didn’t even wait to show me his fangs. Damn, he was hideous. And salivating.

 

Maybe that was it… That vampire of the other time wouldn’t be there to stop this and this sucker wouldn’t hesitate to drink all the blood in my veins.

 

He jumped – literally – towards me but something changed when he was just an inch from my neck. He stopped and stared at me, mouth open and wide eyes.

 

“That son of a bitch!” He spitted. At the time of course I had no idea what was going on, but I was grateful when he turned away and disappeared.

 

What a mad world.

 

Back in Edinburgh strange things kept happening. I saw Sigyn again a couple of weeks after I returned. She glared at me and – I swear – she roared.

 

Somehow, whenever it was night time and I felt someone’s eyes on me, I knew there was a strong chance that person was a vampire. What I didn’t understand was: what was stopping them from biting me? I mean… I was just a mortal, as much as I worked out my strength would never compare to theirs. It was quite intriguing.

 

It was only some time later that I spoke about it with someone else. A vampire that, surprisingly, I felt comfortable with. His name was Volstagg, a Scandinavian immortal who seemed to like it better in our island.

 

He was nice… Too nice for a vampire. He himself didn’t feel like one and he admitted to me that he had never drank human blood, which made me realise that he was a relatively new vampire, he was turned only after the synthetic blood came out in the markets. Apart from that, he still liked to eat human food, and that he ate _a lot_.

 

All in all, he seemed like a good one to question about these strange happenings.

 

“Every time I meet a vampire I feel them looking at me with such… hunger! Why does this happen? You may call me egocentric but believe me it is not fun to be the centre of attention of a vampire everytime I cross paths with one.”

 

Volstagg laughed good-humouredly but I was everything but amused.

 

“Well,” he started, “I have to admit you smell quite good… Even to me. You caught my attention the first second I saw you and it wasn’t because of your looks. I’m straight,” he laughed again. “But your smell is like a magnet.”

 

“Then how am I still alive?!”

 

“Oh… You’re like… _branded_. Marked somehow. It is physically impossible for a vampire to bite you. Unless the one that marked you or someone hierarchically superior to him. _Older_ than him.”

 

“It seems quite glamorous, doesn’t it?” We both turned around abruptly to be met by Sigyn’s cold brown eyes. “Except… it is not. He will come for you, Thor. He’s just taking his time, because… time is quite insignificant for someone as old as him. He’s waiting for you to maturate… The same thing the butcher does to the meat in a slaughterhouse.”

 

I didn’t know what she was on about. But if her intention was to scare the shit out of me again, she was achieving precisely that.

 

“What are you talking about?” Volstagg questioned. I wasn’t sure if they knew each other but that didn’t matter anyway.

 

“Loki,” she whispered. “You don’t find someone like Thor everyday. And he stole him from me,” she growled. “He’s an ancient though… There’s nothing I can do about it. But, my darling… you bet that he won’t make it as quick as I would.”

 

With that she disappeared, leaving me terrified.

 

“Was she speaking the truth? This Loki guy? Who is he?”

 

“As far as I know he’s one of the eldest vampires in the whole world. And in consequence, one of the most powerful creatures to set foot on this planet. Some say he has some extra powers… That he can grow wings and fly… That his eyes turn grey and he goes inside your head, controlling what you do or think. Though… I believe those are just myths. I’ve never even seen him.”

 

“I have…” Volstagg opened his eyes wider, demanding me to explain. “Three years ago, when Sigyn attacked me, this man appeared out of nowhere and told her to go away… It was _him_. And I believe that if what she says is true… That was the moment he _marked_ me, whatever it may mean.”

 

Volstagg scratched his forehead as I focused on calming down. Well, things made sense now… What was left to know was if Sigyn was speaking the truth about his intentions or if she said that just to wind me up. And if it was true… Was there something I could do to stop him?


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's the next chapter. Thanks to everyone that left kudos and comments :) It is highly appreciated!

My head was about to explode those days. I couldn’t concentrate on much… I had found a job at a clothing store but my boss was starting to grow impatient with me. I had always been a perfectionist worker but the last few days I had make some unacceptable mistakes…

 

If the work was bad, my night studies were even worse. I was studying to graduate on Public Relations – don’t ask me why, it had felt fun at the time – and my classes were all in the evening because I was a worker-student.

 

At first I had managed to convince my boss that I was merely tired because I had been studying for the upcoming exams, but it was getting more and more difficult to find an excuse.

 

As I turned 19 things started to calm down again. I had never seen Sigyn after that night and I had been trying to avoid contact with any vampire. Even Volstagg… It wasn’t that I didn’t trust him, but I just needed a break from all of them in order to organize my head.

 

See? I came a long way since I was a teenager named _trouble_.

 

Of course there wasn’t a day that passed that I didn’t think of what Sigyn told me that night. I have to admit that I had a period of insomnia after that and even nightmares. I wasn’t myself, I wasn’t confidant as usual and I lived in a certain level of fear. It was terrible.

 

Anyway, time went by and there were no signs of Loki so I was starting to assume that Sigyn had been bluffing and trying to wind me up somehow. I was more concentrated in work and in my studies and I was starting to enjoy my night outs again. I would still avoid alleys and desert streets all the time though…

 

Even in the matter of taking people to my home, I felt more relaxed. By the time I lived in a small rented apartment – 1 room, 1 small bathroom and a kitchen attached to what they called a living room. It was a fucking couch in front of the kitchen area basically. It was hardly an attractive place to bring a girl to but… it was what I had.

 

At the time I couldn’t care less about relationships, but sex was always quite a highlight in my life. Well… I’m a man, what can you expect? However, believe it or not, in the weeks following Sigyn’s visit, I was even afraid to have sex with strangers, thinking that a vampire could trick me and get into my place.

 

So, basically, it was when everything was stable, that _he really_ came into my life.

 

*

 

 

I will never forget that night, as I will never forget any of those early encounters. In some way he scared the hell out of me, but, strange enough, there was a exquisite sense of protection emanating from him.

 

I was on my way home from my classes, still avoiding darker or empty streets, but, surprisingly enough, he was waiting from me at the front door of my building. He was dressed in a dark green coat, wearing a black and green scarf, his black hair pushed back exposing his pale face. He was turning to me, as if knowing exactly when and where I would appear.

 

“Hello Thor,” he said in that deep voice of his.

 

“Who the hell are you?” My voice was trembling, but I was trying to act and look tough. If he were a human, I would beat him easily. _If_.

 

“Consider me your guardian angel,” he smiled.

 

“You definitely don’t look like an angel. And… how… how do you know my name? And where I live?” Well, the part of my name maybe it had been Sigyn, but still… knowing that he was aware of where I lived was kind of confusing.

 

“I know a lot of things about you, Thor. And there is no need to feel scared big guy. After all… if it wasn’t me, you’d be dead by now.”

 

“I am not scared.” I lied. “But as I understood, you’re planning to kill me anyway, aren’t you? So, what’s the difference? Should I thank you for the few years you gave me? Was it out of compassion?!”

 

“Kill you?!” He frowned, looking incredulous. “No… I have no intentions to kill you, Thor. What I am going to do with you is far more… glorious than death.”

 

“So death can be glorious?”

 

“Some deaths are. Believe me, I’ve seen a lot.”

 

At that point I just wanted to yell to him, ask him what the hell he wanted from me. However, I had two main feelings battling for dominance inside me that prevented me to do just that. Firstly, I knew that it wasn’t a good idea to get him mad. Secondly, something in him fascinated me. I was disgusted at myself for admitting that but it was the truth at the time…

 

“Please, just… tell me what’s wrong with me… What do you want from me?”

 

“Would you walk with me for a while, Thor?”

 

“What?! Walk with you where?”

 

“As I said, I know everything about you. The thing is… _you_ don’t know everything about _yourself_. And I think it’s time for you to know. But some of your neighbourhoods are approaching, they will be here in two minutes and I would really enjoy some privacy.”

 

“I have no choice, do I?”

 

“I’m afraid not. Your life is in my hands.”

 

I looked down, feeling defeated and took a deep breath.

 

“Shall we?” He smiled, gesturing to the road in front of us. I merely nodded and followed his path as he slowly walked away from where we stood. It took a while before he spoke again. But when he did… that was when my life truly started to change.

 

“You suffer from what us vampires commonly call _Parfum Rouge_. It means Red Perfume. It’s just a common name because in fact it is a disorder of the human blood. It’s been around for centuries and it’s hereditary so probably one of your parents had it, too. Maybe both had it, because your level is too high. Apart from attracting vampires it doesn’t cause any troubles to your health and the carriers don’t even realise they have it. That is why your doctors aren’t even aware of it. It is a reaction that occurs in your red blood cells that creates a unique molecule that happens to have the most glorious taste a vampire can experiment. It is quite rare nowadays. As you came imagine we have practically eradicated it. The flavour isn’t everything though. If it was as simple as that, then it would be difficult for us to detect the carriers of the disease.”

 

“The scent.” I whispered.

 

“Exactly, “ he paused. “Unfortunately for you, a vampire can feel your scent even if he or she is on the other side of this town. Fantastic isn’t it?”

 

It didn’t sound so fantastic to me, though…

 

“You are even more amazing though. Your scent is so strong that vampires can feel it even in Glasgow. It only starts after puberty. That is why no one bothered you when you were a child. It’s a disorder that needs high levels of sexual hormones to truly express itself.”

 

“So that is why all vampires stare at me in that creepy way…”

 

“Yes.”

 

“But… how come I’m still alive then?”

 

“I won’t let them kill you or cause you any harm.”

 

“So you can do it yourself…” I whispered, almost feeling defeated. “I may be tougher than you imagine though,” I don’t know why I even bothered to bluff. Well… I was young.

 

“I’ve told you before. I have no interest in killing you.”

 

“I don’t understand.” I said exasperated, finally looking at him.

 

“I am an old vampire, Thor. I don’t need high quantities of blood to “live”. I feed once a week. Sometimes I need even less. So… I was waiting for you to be old enough to understand what I have to propose to you. Well, I do not think you are mature enough now, but now I will tell you anyway. As you already witnessed I can offer you protection. No vampire will dare to bite you for as long as my mark is in you. But now it’s time you give me something back.”

 

“What is that you want, then?”

 

“Your _Parfum Rouge_. Your blood, Thor.” I swear he licked his lips after saying that.

 

“You… you want to bite me… Of course.”

 

“Yes.”

 

“To drink my blood.”

 

“Oh yes.”

 

“But you don’t want to kill me?”

 

“What would be the point in that?! No… You’re too delicious for me to let that happen. And like I said, I don’t need that much blood.”

 

“No! You mean I have to spend the rest of my life at your _disposal_? What kind of proposition is that?”

 

“One you have no escape from, my darling. If you say no… I doubt you’ll survive another night. Like I said… You’re rare and vampires _love_ you. Most of the vampires in this city are young… Once they start tasting your blood they won’t be able to stop drinking. They will leave you dry in a street corner.”

 

“So you’re blackmailing me!”

 

“I am offering you a chance. I am not a benevolent creature by nature, you cannot expect me to protect you and have nothing in return. I am offering you a chance of survival and you will somehow enter in my world. It is a wicked world I must say; a world populated by ancient beings and darkness. My kind is quite different from the common vampires that you see everyday, running bars and fucking around everything and everyone. I am part of the ancient dark royalty of this world, Thor. But the choice is yours.”

 

That speech sounded somewhat delusional, but it fitted him. It is true that he didn’t look or sounded like the other ones. And there were also those _myths_ Volstagg had told me about.

 

“It’s not really a choice, is it? I’m not suicidal.”

 

The smile on his face was lethal.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I want to thank again to everyone who's been following the story :)  
> If there are any True Blood fans out there I think you'll start seeing some similarities. So, again, this story is slightly inspired by those books too.

That night, he did nothing to me. He pierced me again with those intense green eyes and left. Like a phantom.

 

I didn’t know what was happening but, those days that followed, I found myself thinking about him most of the time. And it wasn’t like before. Suddenly, I didn’t feel afraid like before. In fact I felt kind of… relieved and extremely curious. Something changed within me that night, and I was sure it had been another one of his tricks.

 

After all, Volstagg had said he could go inside people’s minds…

 

Anyway, from that day on, I started to loosen up a bit. I knew that no matter what I did, my future was not in my hands so I just managed to worry as less as possible.

 

At my 21th birthday I had one thing to admit though… The only reason I was celebrating it, was because of him. Of Loki.

 

Next visit he paid me was only a couple of days after my birthday. I was getting out of a girls apartment after shagging her, trying to leave unnoticed. I know, I was a bastard, but at the time I really hated the awkward moments after sex with a stranger. Women seemed to expect other things that I wasn’t ready to offer. Things I somehow didn’t _want_ to offer. Nowadays I know I deserved to be beaten severely for doing that repeatedly.

 

So… as I was saying, it was about two in the morning and I was getting out of this girl’s apartment when I heard his voice behind me. At the time I wasn’t able to feel his presence yet.

 

“Good evening, Thor.”

 

Stopping abruptly, I turned around and, honestly, I don’t know what I felt. There was a mixture of feelings inside me and, surprisingly, fear was not among them. What had he done to me, I kept asking myself. Why didn’t I want to run away?

 

“Hey… Good evening. I thought you had disappeared.”

 

He chuckled and got up from the bench he’d been sitting on. “I believe that to you it was a long time since we last spoke to each other. That is the privilege of being so, _so_ young.”

 

“I don’t see why it is a privilege but… whatever. How old are you, anyway?”

 

He smiled wickedly and shook his head. “Too early for such a question.”

 

Shrugging, I looked down, wondering how I could have been so bold.

 

“For now you can just assume that I am older than anyone you know at this point of your life.”

 

“I guess it is legitimate to be curious… You’ve been _stalking_ me for years, after all.” I said, facing him again. His eyes lit up at my bluntness. I am sure he wasn’t expecting me to be so sassy. And honestly, neither did I. But what did I have to lose, anyway? He needed me, it seemed.

 

“I could take that as an insult. But I won’t… You are far more interesting than I originally imagined. It amuses me. And believe me, it is not easy to amuse me…”

 

_Mission… accomplished?_

 

“However… I am here to take my part of our pact. You have been safe all this time and it is payday. Or may I say… _Paynight_.”

 

That was when I felt a pang of fear. As much as I felt enthralled by this man, sorry, _vampire_ , I wasn’t a masochist. The thought of someone ripping apart my veins and drinking my blood wasn’t appealing in the slightest. At the same time I knew I had no choice.

 

“Not here though. Follow me.”

 

My heart was beating faster and faster as he led me into a dark alley. As a note, I should add that vampires arent’t allowed to drink from humans in public, and, even in private, they could only drink if the human in question consented it.

 

That was the law.

 

Of course it was trespassed many times. Then again, so was murder.

 

However, something told me that Loki didn’t give a damn about humans’ laws. He just enjoyed his privacy, he didn’t act according to what others tried to impose.

 

When he was satisfied with the place he turned to me and, instinctively, I stepped back. He chuckled and took a step forward as I felt my back hitting the wall behind me.

 

“Just do it quickly,” I whispered.

 

“You are brave… You won’t even try to escape.”

 

“That would be foolish.”

 

“You’d be surprised at the number and quality of foolish attitudes humans do when they’re desperate.”

 

“I am not desperate… I’m just not very into sadomasochist stuff.”

 

At that he laughed wickedly.

 

“I don’t exactly appreciate pain, if you know what I mean.”

 

“A big guy like you… one would expect you to be very resistant to pain.”

 

“Can we just… get it over with?”

 

In that moment I didn’t realise what I was about to see. Sure I had seen vampires in their true nature, especially the one in London, whose teeth were only centimetres away from my face. However, I was about to see the difference between common vampires and an ancient one. Loki was vampire royalty.

 

His eyes turned silver and his skin grew even paler than it already was. His fangs were out in no time and I braced myself for what was to come. When I looked deeply into his eyes though, I felt my anxiety dissolving. I knew he was the one doing it to me, getting into my head, but somehow I welcomed it. My heart rate slowed down and my heavy breathing went back to almost normal.

 

“If you are too stressed out, your blood won’t taste as good. Excuse me for using my abilities to calm you down, but this way, it will barely hurt you.”

 

He didn’t say that… I realised I hadn’t seen his lips move. That was the first time I heard his voice in my head. It was surprisingly soothing.

 

Whatever he did to me, it was working. I felt his cold breath on my neck and, by instinct, I grabbed his shoulders. He had been right though, I felt like I was under some kind of anaesthetic because I felt no major pain when he bit me. Nonetheless, I let a cry out. Even though the pain itself was more than bearable, it was still an exquisite sensation to feel someone biting my neck. More than that, I felt the _sucking_ , and I heard his swallows and his heavy breathing. It was like, all of a sudden, I could feel every single sensation to the most unthinkable detail.

 

The touch of his black hair tickling my cheek. His freezing hands on the back of my head and neck. The cold breaths leaving his nose. The satisfaction noises he would make at every mouthful of _my_ blood. His fangs tearing my skin apart. His tongue capturing every single drop that menaced to escape.

 

I could feel it all and it was overwhelming.

 

Then, I felt him slowing down until he stopped. He removed his fangs and licked the wound he had left, taking in every last drop of blood. The licking, I discovered later, was also a way to block a possible haemorrhage. They have a _special saliva_ , as they say.

 

Letting out a heavy breath, I opened my eyes to find him staring at me. His lips were crimson, covered in blood but his eyes were back to their usual grin. Not leaving my gaze, he licked his lips, agonisingly slowly, and retracted his fangs. There was something incredibly erotic in that act, even though I believe I didn’t realise it completely back then.

 

“So… _luscious_. I haven’t tasted anyone like you in centuries.”

 

“Does that mean I’m in trouble?” I managed to ask.

 

He chuckled, low in his throat. “Not at all… But you are _mine_.”

 

*

 

When I woke up the next morning, the first thing I saw when I looked at myself in the mirror was the two reddish dots on my neck. Fascinated, I found myself tracing my fingers over them, remembering what had happened not so many hours before.

 

Only then it hit me that I would have to hide them! A scarf would suffice.

 

That day I had an interview for a job at one of Edinburgh’s posh bars. It was a job I was really looking forward to, so I needed to make a good impression. A vampire wound in my neck was certainly not ideal, unless it was an interview for a typical vampire bar. Those were getting more and more popular, but especially considering my last discoveries about myself, I don’t think it would be very intelligent to apply for one of those places.

 

Two days after that, the bar owner called with the good news. The position was mine and I would start the following weekend! Finally, I felt that my diploma in Public Relations helped, even though it was far from being specific for that kind of job. In the end though, I was overjoyed because I would be able to leave those crappy works at clothing stores and stuff and do something I really liked.

 

It was on the night of my first shift that I saw Loki again. It was also the first time I felt his presence before laying my eyes on him.

 

Back then I wasn’t sure what it was. I was preparing an _Alexander_ cocktail, when _something_ made me shiver. I found it strange but paid no attention to it until it happened again, a few minutes later. The first thing I thought was that maybe I was catching a cold. But no… it had to be something else… Something was happening. It was only a matter of seconds before I heard his voice in my head.

 

_Don’t be scared. You’re just feeling me approaching. You’ll get used to it._

 

I still don’t know how I didn’t drop the bottle I was holding. The first time this had happened, he had been in front of me so it didn’t feel so strange. However, hearing someone’s voice in your head when there’s no physical sign of that person can be quite traumatic.

 

I survived though.

 

_Soon you won’t get those shivers. You will just **know** that I am near._

 

“Thor! Are you alright?” That was my new colleague, Sif. She was always nice to me but we never became real friends…

 

“Yes! Yes, sorry… I guess I just zoned out for a few seconds there. Must be the nerves of the first shift.”

 

She chuckled, preparing champagne sangria. “You don’t seem the type of guy who gets nervous…”

 

“Well, I want to do good tonight, that’s all.”

 

“I’m sure you will.”

 

When she disappeared I looked around but found no signs of Loki. Shrugging, I got back to my work. There had been so many weird things happening in my life that, honestly, I was starting to worry less and less.

 

It was only about 10 minutes later that I saw him entering the bar. Dressed in a red shirt and black jeans, a leather coat in his arm… Well, that was new. People seemed oblivious to his presence. There were a couple of other vampires in the bar, I could tell by the way they looked at me, but the staring immediately stopped when Loki came into the scene.

 

“Hello my darling,” he murmured when he arrived at the counter in front of me.

 

 _My darling_ , what the hell? I thought. The only thing that passed through my head was that if someone had heard that there would be rumours that I was gay. Again... patience with me, I was young.

 

“Is there something I can get you? We don’t sell blood here.”

 

“Give me a pure gin. _Botanicals_ if possible.”

 

“Sure.”

 

Before, I used to think that our food and drinks were toxic to them. It was just a silly assumption, I guess. But then I saw Volstagg devouring almost an entire lamb…

 

“How is your neck?” He asked pointing at my scarf.

 

“What do you care?” I replied, putting his drink in front of him.

 

He smiled one-sidedly and took a long sip.

 

“Can you get drunk?” I asked purely out of curiosity.

 

“No.”

 

“High?”

 

“Yes. But not by smoking pot.”

 

“Okay… I won’t ask. I need to work so…”

 

“Please, do as if I wasn’t here.”

 

I tried my best, but it wasn’t easy. Luckily enough though, I think everything went well that night. His visit was a surprise… I’d never thought he would come to me again so soon. If it was to be that way I feared I would quickly become anaemic.

 

Only then I realised that he had no intentions on biting me again that night.

 

When I came out, as expected, I found him waiting for me.

 

“You said you’d only need me once a week. This was the first shift of my new job, it was important and you were distracting me. Couldn’t you come another day?”

 

“Oh that is quite a compliment.”

 

“It is not supposed to be.”

 

“I can interpret it the way I want.”

 

“Whatever. What is it, anyway?”

 

He didn’t speak for a while. Just looked at me. When he finally did, it wasn’t what I’d expected to hear.

 

“Yes, you are more than alright.”

 

“What?”

 

And, just like that, he was gone.

 

Fucking vampires…


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's the next part. I would love to know what you guys think so far :)
> 
> Next part may take a little longer as I will be very busy until next week...
> 
> Thanks for reading!

I met Volstagg at a bar couple of days after. My mission to get away from vampires was a lost cause so I’d decided that at least I could enjoy the company of a nice one.

 

I tried as hard as I could not to mention Loki, but in the end it was Vostagg who did.

 

“So he did end up biting you…” His tone wasn’t accusing or angry, but he did sound quite curious and somewhat alarmed.

 

“How do you know? The mark on my neck is gone…” It’s true, it heals at a crazy speed, one day later and there’s nothing. Instinctively, I ran my fingers over my neck, trying to feel something there.

 

“It is quite obvious, even without a scar… And his mark _in you_ is even stronger now.”

 

“I had no choice,” I added, looking down at my pint.

 

“Hey, I’m not blaming you! That would make me a total hypocrite.” As if to emphasize that, he patted my shoulder affectingly.

 

There was a small silence then. I didn’t know what to say and, stupidly, I felt ashamed. Suddenly, something lit up in my head.

 

“You never told me how you became a vampire…”

 

“By accident… I have no relationship at all with my maker. Which sucks. I still don’t know how I survived all this time… Most abandoned ones don’t. Especially these days.”

 

“I see… When I was a kid all I wanted was to be a vampire. Nowadays I just hope I never become one. Ironic, isn’t it?”

 

“Don’t worry. Loki will never turn you. If he did, he’d lose your blood.”

 

“But still… I’ll never get rid of him. What will happen if I met someone? How can I convince a possible girlfriend that a vampire _owns_ me and there’s nothing wrong with that? I will never have a normal life. As soon as I felt free from the _orphan_ label I get another one, even freakier.”

 

“No, you won’t have a normal life. The question is: did you ever wanted one?”

 

“I don’t know…” I sighed dramatically. “I used to enjoy being a rebel and being different. At this point I feel like I’ve never known anything. There’s something else that’s been bothering me…”

 

“Can I help?”

 

“I guess not but… You see, I was educated in a Christian way.  At the orphanage they made us all go to mass every Sunday. And… it’s weird because I never really cared, and I never prayed unless I was obligated. But! What if there is really a God? I am making kind of a pact with the devil here… My soul, if it truly exists, will be lost.”

 

“I was always an atheist so I’m not the best person to give you advice on that matter…”

 

“It’s probably just me being silly, though… I don’t even know why this is on my mind.”

 

“It is normal to have a lot of questions, Thor. It’s a pity that I can’t answer most of them, though…”

 

“Do you think he will, one day?”

 

“I don’t know… That is yet another question that I have no answer to.”

 

-*-

 

The next time Loki fed from me was exactly nine days after that first time. And then, there were five more visits, each with nine days’ intervals. The feelings were quite similar, with the difference that I was more aware of what was happening. One night, itwas the sixth time he was feeding from me, I knew I wouldn’t be able to keep my quiet attitude for much longer. I guess I can say that I was asking for trouble.

 

That night, when he leaned back from me, licking his lips, I couldn’t help but notice those silver eyes again. I remembered seeing Sigyn’s eyes and those of that vampire in London changing when they attacked me. They got more luminous somehow, but never _silver_ , like Loki’s.

 

“What is that silver colour in your eyes? What does it mean?” I could tell that my question caught him by surprise.

 

His eyes turned green again and he stared at me in wonder.

 

“What? Am I not supposed to see them?”

 

“No… Now I will have to kill you.”

 

I have to admit that in that moment I felt like I was going to faint. I must have looked like a fool because he couldn’t keep the façade for long and started laughing.

 

“Very funny indeed,” I murmured. “I’m glad to know that you have such a fine sense of humour.”

 

“Oh Thor…” he said shaking his head. “You have a lot of questions.”

 

“Well, I think it is legitimate that I do. After all I’m going to have to deal with you for the rest of my life and I know nothing about you except that you’re an extremely old lunatic vampire.”

 

“I like that characterization.”

 

“Whatever. May I go now? Is your appetite satisfied?” I was so irritated that even though I wanted to try to make him talk, a bigger part of me just wanted to leave…

 

“Is yours?”

 

“Excuse me?”

 

“Your questions… My eyes turn silver because of my line. My maker created us this way. You see… long ago, vampires didn’t create other vampires just because, like nowadays. They turned human beings into vampires with a purpose and nothing was made in vain.”

 

“Meaning?”

 

“Meaning that the world changes… not just for your kind, but for mine too. I barely have a place in the world as it is nowadays. But I am stubborn, I won’t _leave_ so easily.”   

 

“Are you joking? From what I realised every vampire has a huge respect for you. Or maybe it’s fear, I’m not sure.”

 

“It is more a question of fear than respect I can assure you. And those are two very different feelings.”

 

I realised later that, on many levels, that was the night everything started to change in our… _relationship_? That was when everything started leading us to where we are these days.

 

“Nowadays the concept of vampire clan does not exist. There is barely a sense of commitment between a vampire and his progeny. Back when I was changed, I immediately belonged to a _nest_ that in consequence belonged to a clan. Every clan had its characteristics and within it, every vampire had something unique.”

 

“A _nest_? As in a bird nest?”

 

“As in a shelter.”

 

“Oh…”

 

“Right now you officially know more about vampire history than 90% of the vampires in this country.” He smiled sadly. “There are no teaching schools, as it happens with you humans, so I’m afraid our history will gradually fall into oblivion.”

 

“I see… And your unique _thing_ … is it your silver eyes?”

 

“I’ll leave you to guess,” he said mischievously. “I need to go now. Thank you for the meal.”

 

I looked at him indignantly but he didn’t give a damn.

 

“Loki wait! Please… I need to ask you some stuff, I… I’ve been completely disorientated. You speak about values the vampires of your generation used to have, yet what you’re doing to me is exactly what you told me you despise.”

 

“You need a correction there. You are not a vampire. You will never be, so those values don’t apply to you.”

 

 _Outch_. I have to admit that what he said kind of hurt me.

 

“You are a fucking sick bastard…”

 

“Calm down, Thor.”

 

“Why?! Are you afraid my rage will damage my blood?”

 

In an inhuman quick movement he had me pinned against the wall, his bony hand circling around my neck.

 

“Calm down, Thor,” he repeated in a low voice. “Everything in its right time, do you understand me? I like your fiery attitude, but for your own good, do not infuriate me. I know you’re acting upon innocence, but you need to learn to be patient. Especially around me.”

 

“That night when you came into the bar I work at, you eluded me into thinking that you cared. Asking about my neck and stuff.”

 

“That was because you could have died. Some humans get reactions the first time they’re bitten. I wouldn’t want that happening to _you_.”

 

“Because of my blood.”

 

“Of course.”

 

“I just… I just need to know that I’m not completely doomed.”

 

“You are not.”

 

*

 

My instinct was to do some Google research.

 

I typed _vampire clan_ and was met with a series of Internet sites that were completely bullshit. There was even a film with that name. _Vampire nest_ however, came with a definition:

 

_A nest is a dwelling in which multiple_ [ _vampires_ ](http://trueblood.wikia.com/wiki/Vampire) _live together._

 

But to what extent was this based on something real? The Internet is a place of falsehood, but when it comes to vampires, the level of distortion and fabrication is even higher!

 

I gave up quickly so, instead, I tried to search another kind of source. It was quite risky I must admit, and it was probably going to infuriate Loki, but I needed more information. I wasn’t the most patient of people…

 

Sigyn was easier to find than I thought. I filled myself with courage and went into the vampire bar in the neighborhood. I tried not to look around too much, as I could _feel_ all of them salivating. It must have been torture for them but I really needed to find her.

 

When she saw me, she rushed to me with incredulous eyes.

 

“Are you completely out of your mind? What the fuck are you doing here? You want Loki to kill all these people?” She hissed in a hushed but nonetheless angry voice. Her eyes pierced me much like Loki’s usually do and I felt paralyzed.

 

“What?!”

 

“Some of these vampires are too young, they understand nothing yet, they may _try_ to taste you. But before they do, they will feel Loki grabbing their hearts and ripping them from their chests.”

 

Okay… That sounded quite extreme. But I knew I needed to focus on my mission.

 

“I just needed to speak to you… Can we go somewhere?”

 

“You’re cruel…” She said covering her face with her hands.

 

“Please Sigyn.”

 

She thought for a moment but ended up following me outside.

 

“Do not do this again, Thor. When a rat goes into a nest of snakes, even if it is evident that he’s poisoned it is sure that a young snake will try to eat him.”

 

“Alright! I am sorry. I had no idea…”

 

Had she just compared me to a rat??

 

“It’s in the past…  now just tell me what’s the urgency.”

 

I decided to go straight to the point “Loki is driving me mad.”

 

“He has an especial ability to do that.”

 

“How well do you know him? You are not a young vampire, are you?”

 

“I am somewhere in the middle.”

 

“But you _do_ know him. Or at least, better than everyone inside that bar.”

 

She was thoughtful for a moment, as if finding out if I was worth her time or not. “My maker is his _brother_. Not a human brother. A _nest_ brother, which means they share their maker.”

 

The revelation was not quite what I had expected.

 

“And he’s still alive?”

 

“Yes.”

 

“And he’s also feared, like Loki?”

 

“He’s younger, so it is not quite the same. But yes, he shares Loki’s _aura_.”

 

“But why? What makes them so different from the other vampires?”

 

“Oh fuck it…” She sighed. “They are not just vampires. They are mind-controllers, shape-shifters, geniuses in their own way; their power lies in much more than the ability of ripping a human’s neck. And they are not as blood thirsty as the rest. They only appreciate _gourmet_.”

 

“I’ll pretend I didn’t understand you were referring to me…”

 

“Pretend whatever you want.”

 

“But if you’re part of that lineage, why aren’t you like them?”

 

“I was turned in a different period… The world is in constant change.”

 

“Loki told me the same.”

 

“This is the only reason why I dared to ask him to share you with me. Remember? That night, when you were fifteen?”

 

“Yes…”

 

“He wouldn’t hurt me, so… I tried my luck.”

 

Silence. I had so many questions still. But I didn’t want to put her in an awkward or even dangerous position.

 

“Does he know we’re talking right now.”

 

“For sure, he does.”

 

“I guessed so… Well, in that case I think it’s better for me to go.”

 

She simply nodded.

 

“Thank you… And I’m sorry for appearing like that…”

 

“Forget it. Listen Thor… Loki will never hurt you, but you must never forget that it is only because of your blood. You won’t become his friend, or his partner in crime… He’s too old… He doesn’t see things the way you do. Hell, he doesn’t see things the way I do, and I’m almost 500 hundred years old.”

 

 _What_?! And he has more than _that_?!

 

“As long as you have that in your mind you should be alright.”


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So... There are a lot of explanations ahead :) I hope you enjoy this revealing chapter!

When I was on my way home, I felt worried for Sigyn. Even though she said Loki wouldn’t hurt her, I feared his short temper… I would have never forgiven myself if something had happened to her.

 

Nevertheless, the next time Loki looked for me, something new happened. Something that, at the time, I hadn’t been expecting at all. Of course I had no idea what triggered him, but I was thankful that, at last, I was being given a glimpse of his true self.

 

As usual, I felt he was near even before I laid my eyes upon him. The feeling was getting familiar and I had stopped cringing long before. That time though, I felt anxious because I knew I had probably gone a bit far… Also, he came to me only six days after the previous _visit_ , which worried me deeply. It was definitely not normal.

 

“I know Sigyn has been putting some ideas in your head.” That was the first thing he said when he appeared in front of me and I felt my heart starting to beat faster.

 

“It was me who asked! Please don’t hurt her…”

 

“I do not hurt my own _keen_ , Thor.”

 

“So you’re going to hurt _me_?” After all, he had already pointed out that I wasn’t a vampire so I wasn’t included in his benevolences. Like Sigyn had said, only my blood could save me.

 

“Why do you suppose I have to hurt anyone at all? You’re too assuming, especially considering subjects you know absolutely nothing about,” he said in a very stern voice.

 

I felt helpless then… and… incredibly young and naïve under his stare. I could be bigger than the average guy, but Loki used to make me feel small in a way no one else did.

 

“I just needed to know… Everything was driving me crazy, it still is because, honestly, she didn’t tell me much.”

 

“Would you come with me? There’s something I need to do and maybe it may help you understand some aspects... to a certain extent.”

 

The prospect was marvellous, but terrifying at the same time.

 

“Go with you where?”

 

“Will you come or not?”

 

In the end, as expected, curiosity took the best of me and I ended up following him down the road. It was windy, and somehow I ended up mesmerized by the way his shoulder-long hair danced in the blowing air.

 

Surprisingly, he grabbed some car keys from his pocket and beeped towards a black Alpha Romeo.

 

“Let’s go,” he said, getting into the driver’s seat. Without any questions – yes, I’m aware he could have kidnapped me, but you have to think I didn’t have much to lose anyway – I got into the car. It smelled fresh and everything was impeccably neat inside.

 

“I hope this includes a ride back,” I said as I fastened my seatbelt.

 

“You have your delicious blood on your side, Thor. I would never leave you out there in true danger.”

 

He started the engine and drove off.

 

“It’s really reassuring that you say that,” I said ironically.

 

He chuckled but said nothing. Silence fell upon us as we left the city at high speed. I must admit I worried _a little_ when he turned into a small road in the middle of a forest. Forests can get quite creepy at night…

 

He drove fast for at least twenty minutes into the woods until he stopped at a small village I never even knew existed.

 

“This is kind of a _phantom_ old village…” he said turning off the ignition. “ It has been deserted for decades. A couple of years ago there used to be some teenage camps here. They came to play paintball, organize crazy parties, do drugs and think they’re the masters of the universe… Then it spread that vampires inhabited it and they left in fear. In fact there used to be candles and pentagons and creepy voodoo dolls everywhere, but vampires had nothing to do with it even though in fact, they in here quite often.”

 

“So the creepy stuff was to _scare the demons away_ …”

 

“In a way yes. But some of those rituals have nothing to do with vampires.

 

“But it seems like there’s no one here at all.”

 

“Vampires hide easily... But you’re right anyway. By now, there are no vampires walking around this area. But there are some held captive.”

 

In that moment, a big dog came out of nowhere and ran to Loki. Well… looking closely I could see that it was no dog, it was actually a wolf staring up at him. Slowly, Loki crouched down and let the wolf lick the palm of his hand. I wondered if that was some kind of ritual too…

 

“How are you doing Rowena? Keeping an eye on them?”

 

It was weird to see him looking at her in such a kind way. Suddenly, something lit up in my head.

 

“Is she-“

 

“A werewolf? No… They are extinct. Rowena is just a very special wolf. She always follows me around whenever I come here.” Of course I wasn’t even aware that werewolves had actually existed at some point. “Werewolves were actually a vampire clan. Their line shape-shifted into those enormous and fast wolves but they fed on human blood like the rest of us. There were human witnesses and that is why so many books were written and so many films were made during the last century. But they got it all wrong… They assumed them as a different kind…”

 

“What happened to them?”

 

“They were extinct in one of the many vampire wars. We fought each other a lot in the past… Every clan wanted to show superiority, much like it happens in humans’ wars. The wolves’ biggest enemies were a clan that shape-shifted into bats. Does it ring a bell?”

 

“In many popular culture stories vampires turn into bats…” I realised with a frown.

 

“Exactly. Those were the two clans that have been witnessed by humans even before the Middle Age. They were quite… _loud_. And messy.” He got up again and we started walking, the wolf leading the way.

 

“It makes sense… The bat and the wolf myth had to start somewhere…”

 

“These days though, it seems that our greatest enemy is the one we never thought would truly be dangerous. But the hunter is becoming the hunted.”

 

“Humans?!” I frowned. It seemed so impossible…

 

“Nothing is more dangerous than humans when they feel threatened. You know your limitations and, throughout the world history, there’s no other species that has overcome their limitations as well as humans. No one else has the ability to adapt to every situation like you all do. Not even us vampires.”

 

“But how can we even cause any harm to someone so incredibly stronger than us? It sounds absurd.”

 

“’ _When the sun rises and the monster turns to dust, justice shall prevail_.’ This is an old saying among groups of humans that always knew about us. Everyone said they were mad, of course. Many were burnt alive, accused of being witches and weapons of the devil. The ironic fact is that, all those people were incredibly religious… That is why they believed in us, they assumed us as demons.”

 

“Most saints were tortured before they died, I know that. But what does this have to do with anything?”

 

“Humans have the most powerful weapon on their side. The sun. After thousands of years, us vampires haven’t been able to adapt to daylight. And we never will… In the end, they – _you_ – have it all. And they have discovered it quite soon… Those religious people that knew of our existence started organizing sessions and rituals to hunt and kill vampires. They would use the sun, of course.” He paused, looking up, in between the tall trees, at the full moon above us. Probably wishing he could stare at the sun the same way he stares at the moon in all its glory. “One of the most powerful vampires ever was killed by humans. How ironic is that? No other vampire would be a match for her. At night, she was unbeatable, but the sun… The sun doesn’t forgive.”

 

We resumed our walking into the forest then, and at each step I was growing more and more intrigued.

 

“It must be strange to be so strong but so vulnerable at the same time… I mean, it’s the _sun_! To us it means life.”

 

“Exactly. That is why they used it to kill us. Of course it was the easiest way but it also had a whole meaning. Finish the darkness, finish the _undead_ , don’t let the world be taken by those who take shelter in the moon and in the shadows…”

 

“And this place we’re going to… Is it some kind of a cult house dedicated to kill vampires?”

 

“Very intuitive,” he chuckled. “They follow the lead of the group that killed my sister, almost three hundred years ago. Someone found their writings I guess.”

 

“She was your sister? The vampire you were talking about?”

 

“My nest sister. Farbauti. But honestly she was more like a mother. My maker was never the same after she disappeared…”

 

He stopped then, closing his eyes. “What is it?”

 

“Beyond these trees there is an old and abandoned sanatorium. When you see it at night, its appearance seems taken out of one of your most terrible horror films,” he opened his eyes and looked at me, catching my frightened look. “The authorities know about it, of course, and I’m sure they are aware of what goes on in there these days. But they do nothing… It’s only another atrocity these… _cult groups_ do. But I honestly don’t care what humans do to each other and believe me… some humans’ cruelty can be shocking even to me. But they messed with my nest. The only thing preventing me from killing all those idiots right now is the knowledge that it would raise a war like no other before.”

 

“But they killed your sister so many years ago… Why are you doing this now?”

 

“Because now they want to kill my maker and all my nest. This place is like bait, you see? They caught some young vampires and they are killing them there, hoping that the older ones will come to rescue them and fall into their many traps. They put us in silver cages so we can’t escape and leave us in a patio with no roof until the sun comes up and burns us until we turn to dust.”

 

His words are haunting… I feel all the hairs in my arms standing up and it’s not because it’s cold.

 

“You’ve been there… Haven’t you?”

 

He didn’t even need to answer, but he did… surprisingly.

 

“I was the one they caught first… Farbauti arrived when I was in that damned cage and made a deal with them. I guess you realise what kind of a deal it was.”

 

I couldn’t say anything… Of course it was obvious that his sister gave her life for him.

 

“It was a long time ago,” he sighed. “But like I said… when humans are afraid of something, they become dangerous to themselves and to everyone and everything around them. Even to us. The problem is that we underestimated them many times in the past.”

 

“But vampires kill us too… Time and time again. I’m sorry but it’s comprehensible that we are afraid. Murder is murder, that much I agree. But, how many humans have _you_ killed?”

 

“You don’t see salmon fish getting back at the bear, do you?”

 

“That is just low…”

 

He laughed then. Coldly. Rowena sat down, her ears turned to the sanatorium that I hadn’t even seen yet.

 

“I just wanted to rile you up. But the truth is… There are not that many deaths.  Only when we’re young and the hunger is unbearable. Otherwise we rarely drain a person. The average human body has five litres of blood. We are full with one fifth of it. Nobody dies because of that loss.”

 

I looked down, unconvinced. Did he just give me a scientific explanation?

 

“But what exactly do you want to do with these people?”

 

“What I _want_ to do is pretty obvious. But what I need to do is to expose them. And that’s where you come in.”


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Things are heating up... In many senses.

In order to make things sound credible, I couldn’t just turn up at the door of the old sanatorium and say I wanted to volunteer. I needed to go around the circle if I wanted people to believe my façade.

 

So, that was how I ended in an old church in Edinburgh’s suburbs, one day before going to work. Loki knew that place was connected to the other guys and, more important than that, there were rumours about it. That way, a young man appearing there to ask about a certain organization wouldn’t seem so bizarre. According to Loki, I wasn’t the first one to show up there, and probably I wouldn’t be the last.

 

I got in and tried to remember Sunday’s mass back when I was in the orphanage. So I kneeled and pretended to pray something, so the two old women that were in there wouldn’t find me suspicious. It was only a couple of minutes later that Father Parsons appeared at the altar and I knew that was my chance. Standing on my feet again, I walked in his direction and caught up with him just as he was lighting the last candle.

 

“Good afternoon, Father!” I greeted him, lowering my head.

 

“Good afternoon, son. May I help you?”

“Yes… I believe you can,” I said in a low voice. I looked back at the old women but they seemed too concentrated in their praying. “I’m sorry if I sound rude but I really need an information that I think you can give me. I was told this was related to an organization named _Bright Sun_ , am I right?”

 

In that moment I felt like a secret agent and it was incredibly exciting. My previous encounter with Loki had been insane. Part of me knew the risk I was taking in getting myself into something of this magnitude, but hell, I was willing to go forward. It wasn’t because I wanted to help vampires or anything; it was the adrenaline of the situation that was so appealing.

 

“Yes, son. You are right. How can I help you?”

 

That easy? Wow.

 

“Well… I wanted to know what I have to do to join them. Sorry, I am not sure if you are part of the group or not…”

 

“No, I am not. This is a church, son. Are you aware of what that means?”

 

“I was told that _Bright Sun_ was kind of a church too… I am sorry if I am mistaken.”

 

“Kind of… But far from it at the same time. It always depends on one’s interpretation of the Word of the Lord.”

 

He got closer to me after, his mouth almost too close to my ear.

 

“This is not _Buffy the vampire slayer_ ’s house, son. If you want to hunt vampires it is not with me that you need to talk.”

 

“With who, then?”

 

“I will give you a contact.”

 

*

 

“He gave me this and prevented me that it was better to call at night.”

 

Loki chuckled at that. “Of course… they work at night. And sometimes they work till the sun rises! They’re probably too tired on day time.” I couldn’t help but sigh deeply at his irony.

 

“It was surprisingly easy though… He didn’t deny anything at all… He went straight to the point.”

 

“So they are probably in need of more people there. Our timing is perfect.”

 

“Should I call now?”

 

“Not yet,” he said, hoarsely. “I need to drink first.”

 

His eyes turned into the already familiar silver and he got closer to me, feeling my scent first, as usual. It was the first time that he grabbed me by the waist though. I don’t know if it was the intoxication of that moment, but it didn’t feel weird to have our groins pressed together. It was clear that I was starting to grow an erection and he actually started dry humping me at the same rhythm he sucked my neck. Until that moment, having him sucking my blood had felt intimate but never… erotic. That was a first. I don’t exactly remember why the transition didn’t freak me out, I mean, I had never been sexually involved with a man, but it is a fact that it didn’t. Or at least, not in the hysterical way I would have thought it would.

 

I hissed when his tongue started liking the wound and grabbed his sides. As he savoured me, I moved my hands up until one of them reached the back of his neck. That was when I realised I was moaning. In pleasure. My hips were actually moving against his.

 

“You like it now, don’t you? It arouses you,” he whispered in my ear. When he licked the wound one last time I had to bite on my lower lip in order not to moan even louder. It wasn’t the first time it had felt good; in fact, it had never really felt bad, but it was definitely the first time it had affected me in a sexual sense.

 

“What is happening? What is this?” I groaned.

 

He leaned slightly back, his eyes still silver and his mouth crimson. “If I tell you, I’m afraid it might scare you to death.”

 

“I’m standing here with a fucking erection because of a male vampire. _That_ should scare me to death, but surprisingly it doesn’t…”

 

That devilish grin didn’t leave his face as he licked his lips.

 

“It would be better if you realised it in your own pace, Thor.”

 

I knew there was no chance he would spit it up so I didn’t push him any further. However, I was sure something very relevant was going on. And it was affecting him, too.

 

“Right… But I still have this _inconvenience_ between my legs. And we still need to put our plan in action.”

 

“My oh my, Thor. Are you really asking me to take care of your _inconvenience_ , as you put it?”

 

That was when all coherent lines of thoughts left my head.

 

“No… it will go away eventually.”

 

“Uh… That will hurt,” he said, squinting his eyes, which were green again. “As you wish. But just for your information, there’s not much I haven’t experimented in terms of sex over my insanely long life. Gender especially, means nothing to me.”

 

Awkwardly I followed him to his car and got into the passenger’s seat, picking up the paper the priest had given me. My breathing was still slightly out of control and the pressure between my legs was starting to get really uncomfortable. Somehow, I knew this was amusing to him.

 

Luckily, he allowed me to calm down and take a few deep breaths before we got back to business.

 

“All right, let’s see what this person has to say,” I said, pressing the numbers on my phone.

 

It rang three times before a man with a high-pitched voice picked up. It made me cringe…

 

“Is this _Mr. Sunrise_?” I asked, mentioning the code name the priest had written down. These people already sounded so pathetic…

 

There was a small pause on the other side. He hadn’t been expecting the special name, I was sure.

 

“Speaking. How can I help you?”

 

“Well, this number was given to me by Father Parsons. I went to him in order to look for information about this association named _Bright Sun_. I am very interested in joining it.”

 

“What do you know about _Bright Sun_? And how did you become aware of it?”

 

“Lisa Page was my friend,” I lied, trying to stay close to Loki’s alibi. “She was a member of _Bright Sun_ , I hope you remember her. She was sucked to death by a vampire about three months ago. I guess that answers both of your questions.”

 

There was a moment of silence on the other side. Loki was looking out of the window but I knew he was listening to the conversation. I didn’t need to put it in high voice; he could hear the other guy’s voice in my head. Of course I had never known this Lisa Page… Loki told me she was experimenting on vampires, creating a serum that would be able to kill them. However, she was failing miserably and whenever she experimented a new version of said serum in a vampire, the results were always dubious. Whatever it was that she created though, at least it was able to cause immense pain to vampires. One of her subjects was able to run away from the facilities one night. I guess the rest of the story is easy to imagine.

 

“More or less. And yes, I remember Lisa. Do you know what exactly she did for us?”

 

“She was a scientist. She was testing vampires’ special abilities and stuff. She didn’t tell me much of course… Actually, she probably told me too much…”

 

“Indeed… But there’s nothing we can do about it now. When can you come to an interview?” Bingo! As Loki said, the guy would be afraid that there was someone out there who knew a lot about them. He would have no choice but to take me in.

 

We agreed to meet the next day at 8pm in front of a restaurant of his choice in Edinburgh. We’d have dinner and discuss my _application_.

 

“Done. I just hope I’m able to keep up tomorrow.”

 

“Do you ever say no to a challenge?”

 

“Never.”

 

*

 

I arrived at the restaurant five minutes early. It was already dark so I knew Loki was near. He would be inside my head of course, listening to the conversation I would have with Mr. _Sunrise_.

 

“Thor Odinson?” I turned around to the attractive lady that called my name.

 

“Yes, that would be me.”

 

“Your host is waiting for you. Please follow me.”

 

I did so and found myself entering a private room. Of course, he didn’t choose this fancy restaurant out of the blue.

 

In the room there was a square table with a bottle of red wine. The man sitting opposite the door stood up and buttoned his blazer. He was probably in his sixties, and I could already tell he wouldn’t be easy to fool.

 

“Mr. Odinson, it is a pleasure to meet you personally,” he signalled the waitress to leave us and she did so, closing the glass door behind her. At least we could be seen from the outside, which put me a little bit at ease. These rooms only existed to prevent others from hearing certain conversations…

 

“I thought you would be a little older, though… Being Lisa’s cousin.”

 

 _Lisa was 53 years old when she died. Say she was your mother’s cousin._ Loki’s voice… I wasn’t alone.

I chuckled. “Well, in fact she was my mother’s cousin, so she was mine by second grade. But we were really close despite that.”

 

“I see… Well, let’s sit down. What would you like to eat? The lamb here is fantastic!”

 

So we ordered lamb, which honestly I don’t particularly appreciate, but… anyway. Until the food arrived, we only talked about trivial things, such as my current job and the ones I had before. For the time being, I decided to omit the fact that I grew up in an orphanage.

 

It was when he started cutting through the lamb that that the true questions arrived.

 

“So! Tell me Thor, why are you so interested in joining _Bright Sun_ and, more importantly, how do you think you can help us.”

 

“I think all vampires should be eradicated. They are no creatures of God so, certainly, they represent a lapse in the creation process. We, as the hand of the Lord, need to fix it. There is no place for them in this world.”

 

“And how would you eliminate them? Have you ever seen a vampire in their true nature.”

 

“Unfortunately yes, sir. And to this day I still don’t know how I survived.”

 

“So you know how strong they are… We are no match for them.”

 

“I know… But they can’t stand in the sunlight for more than a few seconds. And they don’t tolerate silver either.”

 

“Who taught you that? I ask this because you mentioned the two things that indeed can stop them. You didn’t mention garlic or wooden sticks.”

 

“Those are just myths. And popular culture. Lisa taught me well.”

 

“I see… Not many people know about that…”

 

“As for your second question, I can do whatever you need me to do. I am strong, I could join security. Or, if you prefer, I could study and help the scientists… You tell me. I like challenges.”

 

He studied me for a while then, and I thought that maybe part of him still didn’t believe my story.

 

“Tell me one more thing. Are you afraid of vampires?”

 

Tricky question… I knew it would come.

 

_Say yes. Say that you are terrified._

_I know, Loki, I got this_!

 

“Of course I am. That is why I want them to vanish.”

 

“Good. I will speak to my colleagues and I will contact you after. Then we will talk about your possible duties. You also need to organize between this and your job, since you already work at night. You need to keep your job, or people will get suspicious.”

 

The rest of the meal went smoothly and I could feel Loki’s satisfaction in my head. I had done a great job.


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for taking longer than usual but my working schedule is quite crazy these days...
> 
> Hope you enjoy! Please tell me what you think :)

_Mr. Sunrise_ – whose true identity I only found out much later – told me to meet him in that same restaurant five nights after our first meeting. Apparently he needed to speak with other people in order to bring me into their _little_ congregation. I had to go through some tests, he said.

 

So, during those days I tried to prepare somehow, imagining different situations and thinking how I could get out of them. In spite of that, deep down I knew that there was no way to prepare for what was to come. After all, I had no idea what I was getting myself into.

 

It was Friday night and I was leaving work when I heard Loki in my head. He was asking me to wait a few minutes because he was on his way to meet me. I really hoped he had no intentions of drinking that day… I was starting to feel weak due to the blood loss and it was showing. Of course later on I started taking vitamins and iron and things stabilized…

 

“Thor,” of course I felt he was there behind me before he called me.

 

“Hey…”

 

“I do not have good news for you.”

 

That was unexpected. Mostly because I could feel he was serious and not just winding me up.

 

“What are you talking about?”

 

“Come. Let’s talk somewhere else.” Again, he took me to his car and drove out of town. We didn’t share a word and I was starting to get nervous. What could it be? Suddenly, he stopped on the side of the road and turned to me.

 

“You know a vampire named Volstagg quite well, don’t you? A big, Scandinavian guy.”

 

“Yes… I haven’t seen him in a while though. More than a month, actually, which is quite weird now that I think about it.”

 

His expression was almost blank, as if part of him had vanished.

 

“They killed him this morning.”

 

“What?!”

 

“Apparently he was captured about three weeks ago. He didn’t know many people around here so he wasn’t really missed.”

 

“I didn’t-“

 

“Thor. I am not blaming you. Anyway, he was captured and they were making some tests on him, I don’t know exactly what. But he got weaker and the absence of blood didn’t help of course. So, when they could no longer use him, they just let him burn. They put him in a silver cage outside and left him there until the sun came up.”

 

I was speechless. Volstagg? Really?! It seemed so absurd. Why would anyone want to do that to him?

 

“I don’t understand…”

 

“I never got to know him, but by the descriptions I can tell he was an easy prey.”

 

“He was such a nice guy… He only drank synthetic blood.” I shook my head in confusion. “Why him?”

 

“Like I said, he was an easy prey. They don’t care if the vampire is a criminal or just an ordinary being. They want to make their tests and eradicate us.”

 

“How do you know this?”

 

“He wasn’t the only one who died last morning… There was also a vampire girl named Amora and she was Sigyn’s progeny. Of course Sigyn felt everything that was happening to her including the fact that there was someone else there. The strange thing is that they killed her immediately after they captured her… When Sigyn realised what was happening it was too late. Amora was pacific… she only drank human blood with consent and she has never killed anyone. This means they are provoking our nest directly now.”

 

I had to agree with him. It did seem too personal.

 

“The development of this _war_ is not going to be charming….” He continued. “That is why I decided to ask you if you really want to go forward with this. It is dangerous and I cannot guarantee your safety.”

 

I thought for a moment and everything that came to my mind was Volstagg’s laughter and his kind attitude. What happened to him was beyond unfair.

 

“My answer is yes.”

 

I looked at him in the eyes as I said it and felt him studying me. I had never seen him with such a serious attitude.

 

“All right. There’s no going back now.”

 

“I understand...” I looked down for a moment, and then back into his eyes. “My meeting with _him_ is tomorrow… It’s probably not the best time to ask for your help, but I’m a little afraid about getting there and be too obvious…”

 

“You fooled him perfectly at the restaurant. I am sure he will let you in.”

 

“And after? What happens when I’m in?”

 

“You will be my eyes. Do not worry, you won’t be alone.”

 

“That sounded kind of creepy…” I said chuckling. “But thank you.”

 

“No, Thor… thank _you_. And believe me, I don’t show my gratitude for nothing. You are doing us a big favour and I really need to acknowledge it.”

 

I felt proud… I guess it’s the best way to describe it. However, what happen next was totally unexpected and out of the blue.

 

He kissed me.

 

Loki kissed _me_.

 

A vampire. A _male_ vampire.

 

It was urgent and primal. His hands found their way to the back of my neck to hold me possessively in place. After the initial shock I started kissing him back, opening my mouth wider for his wondering tongue. It was weird to feel his mouth on me without his fangs but I was glad he had them retracted. I groaned deeply and moved closer to him, not even paying attention if I was touching the engine of the car.

 

Grabbing his dark hair, I tipped his head back, dominating the kiss for the moment. I felt bold and aroused and I didn’t care if I was passing some boundaries. I placed one hand on the side of his cold neck and heard his guttural moan. Sadly, I had to come up for air.

 

I was panting hard, and the satisfied grin on his face only made my erection grow even harder. When he opened his eyes they were silver.

 

“It means pleasure,” I tried.

 

“Wrong.”

 

I pouted. Kind of.

 

“It means thrill, euphoria, ravishment… Whether it is in terms of sexuality, drinking human blood, fighting another vampire… The silver eyes of my line convey strong emotions and attitudes. Because contrary to what humans think, vampires are very emotive in certain aspects.”

 

It made some sense, I had to admit. Maybe not emotions like us humans experience, but still, emotions. After all, hearing how devastated Sigyn was immediately made me think of a mother-daughter relationship. However, in that precise moment I was more focused in the fact that a male vampire had kissed me and it had felt like a volcano exploding.

 

“Why don’t I feel bad about this? I… I’ve never kissed a guy.”

 

He laughed then. “Because I’m not _a guy_ , Thor. Your body has already realised what your brain hasn’t. But you will eventually get there.”

 

I shrugged, not fully understanding it yet but also knowing that at the time there was nothing I could do about it.

 

“I have to go now. Sigyn is still uncontrollable and I have to make sure she doesn’t take any foolish attitude.”

 

“What about her maker?”

 

“Helbindi is in South America. But he will return as soon as possible.”

 

“Take me with you. I’m already involved and… maybe it will help me understand better the magnitude of this.”

 

He seemed to consider. “That is probably not a good idea… But I will accept it under the condition that you won’t make questions in Sigyn’s presence. And keep your distance. She’s not approachable at the moment. At all.”

 

*

 

The _nest_ was nothing like I had imagined. Loki stopped in front of a big old house near a small village named Mayfield. It was only a 20-minute ride from Edinburgh but it was already the middle of nowhere.

 

The house didn’t look appellative at all, which was probably why they chose it. I observed it attentively as I got out of the car, taking in its big gates and its phantasmagorical appearance. It looked uninhabited and cold, since it was made of pure rock.

 

“Come on inside. You will be the first human to go in there in a very long time so don’t expect any sympathies. Especially tonight…”

 

“For how long have you been here?”

 

“In this house… Just over 400 years. But we’re not all here all the time as you can imagine,” he said as he opened the gate.

 

“May I ask who’s here right now?”

 

“Sigyn, my nest sister Angrboda, my progeny Fenrir and my maker… Laufey. I doubt you’ll lay eyes on him, though.”

 

I knew better than to ask why. Nevertheless, I couldn’t help but wonder just how _old_ Loki’s maker was.

 

When he opened the door I was met with an empty hall and a fancy staircase. However, after closing the door behind us, Loki immediately turned to the left and I followed until we reached a staircase that led down to what I thought was a basement.

 

“You brought your human,” I heard a woman’s voice behind us. Angrboda?

 

“I did,” he answered coldly, leaving no space for further comments. I could tell he was hierarchically superior to her. “How is she?”

 

At that question, I could see her shoulders fall and her face hang sadly. Angrboda had appearance of a 35 to 40 year old woman with dark green eyes and long blond hair. She was very tall which, combined with her other peculiarities, made me think she had Scandinavian ancestry. “I cannot classify… She already tried to do _it_.” Of course I didn’t understand what she meant by _it_ , but seeing Loki’s expression, it couldn’t be good. “Fenrir is with her, and you know she adores him but right now… She doesn’t even _look_ at him. She’s gone hollow.”

 

Again, in my head I could imagine that she was going through the anguish of a mother who has lost a child.

 

“It is even harder…” Loki said, knowing what was in my head. “A mother cannot _feel_ what her child went through. Sigyn felt Amora’s despair and fear as if it was her own… And she could do nothing about it. That is what’s causing her so much pain.”

 

I nodded. In that moment I couldn’t even be mad at him for going into my head. Somehow I knew it was for my own protection, to make sure I wouldn’t do anything stupid and risk everything.

 

“I will see her now,” he said and went down the stairs. I followed him of course, not exactly knowing what to expect.

 

It was a small basement indeed and Sigyn was lying in a bed opposite the stairs. Later I found out that there were many basements in that house, and each of them was the room of one of the vampires. They were all lightproof.

 

On her side, running his fingers through her hair was a red haired man who had his back to us.

 

“She’s given up to exhaustion. She’s finally sleeping,” he whispered. Usually vampires only slept during the day, but I guessed hers was a special case.

 

“And how was she before?”

 

He turned around, his clear blue eyes landing on me even though he was speaking to Loki. He had the appearance of someone in his early thirties, looking slightly older than Loki, even though he clearly wasn’t.

 

“Inconsolable. It’s like she can still feel Amora.”

 

“Maybe she can…”

 

“I’m Fenrir,” he said, that time to me, his voice deep and calm. “And you must be my Maker’s _Parfum Rouge,”_ he had a lopsided grin and his gaze was challenging. I said nothing but I didn’t look away either. So he was Loki’s progeny…

 

Loki wasn’t menacing to him like he had been with the others. That was the first time I witnessed a maker-progeny relationship.

 

“I guess…” That was my clever answer.

 

“Thor is going to infiltrate the sanatorium. Through his mind I will be able to know exactly what is going on there.”

 

“And then what?”

 

“And then we will put an end to this madness.”


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am SO SORRY for the delay, guy :( I was ill and after I had a lot of work so things got quite shitty... I'll see if this doesn't happen again!  
> Anyway, hope you enjoy it, please tell me what you think if you're inclined to do so :)

Loki’s room was much like Sigyn’s, only a little bit bigger. It was dark and almost sinister looking due to the lack of windows and rocky walls. He had a lot of books though, and I could see most of them were written long before I was born.

 

“This will sound stupid but I half expected your beds to be coffins…” I chuckled running my finger across a bock shelf. “I’m a little disappointed to be honest…” I joked.

 

“It is not stupid. Coffins are still a necessity to many vampires. Some still sleep in them nowadays and won’t trade them for anything; many don’t trust basements like this. Personally, I never really liked coffins. I must have been claustrophobic when I was human,” he smiled.

 

“Do you remember anything from that time? Before you were turned?”

 

“No, not really,” in that moment he started to undress, taking off his boots and unbuttoning his green shirt. I started realising he was keen on that colour… It did match his eyes and his white skin. When his chest was exposed I couldn’t help but feel entranced by it. It was just so _pale_ … So… _beautiful_. “My darling you can make yourself more comfortable.”

 

There it was again. _My darling_. It didn’t make me flinch anymore but I still had not realised why he insisted in calling me that.

 

“I probably should be heading home…” Only then I realised that I had no way of going home… Loki had driven us there and the house was in the middle of nowhere.

 

“You can catch the first train in the morning. It’s at 8:25. The sun will rise before that so I won’t be able to take you there, but the station is quite easy to find.”

 

“You’re telling me I’ll stay _here_?”

 

“Honestly Thor, is there a safer place in the world right now? No one would dare to come here at night. In the daylight… maybe, even though we have our own protection. But not at night.”

 

“But-”

 

“Stop overthinking.” Suddenly, he was too close. I could perfectly feel his cold breath on my face and it was giving me the chills. Good chills. “If it makes you feel any better you can sleep in a couch upstairs.”

 

“No, thank you. Too many vampires around…”

 

“And what am I?”

 

“You won’t kill me. You love my blood too much.”

 

“I see Sigyn has taught you well.”

 

I smiled at that and he turned away with a wicked grin. “You were the one who said you wanted to come…” he said as he sat on his bed. He kept looking at me then, as he brought one leg up, his arm resting on top of his knee. It seemed as if he was posing for me, just in his trousers.

 

It made me lick my lips.

 

“Don’t be shy.”

 

“I’m not. I never was.”

 

“That is because you’ve never been with someone like _me_.”

 

“You’re so full of yourself… It’s incredible.”

 

“Well, isn’t it true?”

 

“Alright, you win…” I said as I approached him with a sight and sat by his side. “Of course I’ve never been with someone like you, you’re both a vampire and a _guy_.”

 

His hand grabbed my leg possessively as he turned to me, eyes sparkling. “Thor, Thor… Tell me something, this morning, did you feel anything strange?”

 

I frowned at the weird question and tried to recall my morning. It seemed so distant already…

 

“I remember I woke up long before the alarm clock. The sun must have been rising or something… Then I went back to sleep and only woke up when the alarm went off. Why do you ask?”

 

“You felt my distress.”

 

“What?!”

 

“You woke up when the sun was rising. If you remember correctly, at that precise time Amora was dying and I was going through a chaotic moment. Do you understand what I mean?”

 

“But… but I then I simply went back to sleep… And I managed to do that just perfectly.”

 

“That is because I didn’t _call_ you and also because you didn’t know why you woke up, you didn’t read the signs. I bet you had some goose bumps or something like it.”

“I don’t remember…”

 

“I can teach you how to interpret my signs, even the involuntary ones like the one you received this morning. Darling, I can teach you so many things…”

 

“Should I be flattered or scared?”

 

“There’s no reason to be scared.”

 

“It still sounds quite creepy though…”

At that he chuckled and then he kissed me again. It was intense and vibrant and exquisite as it had been before.

 

“Master!” I jumped back by impulse, as soon as I heard that voice, however Loki didn’t even flinch. It was Fenrir stepping down the stairs. Loki’s plenitude made me think that kissing people like that in his basement was something he did quite often which, stupidly, made my chest tighten up. I immediately tried to get rid of that thought though, it was completely ridiculous.

 

“I’m sorry to interrupt but Sigyn wants to speak to you. In private.”

 

“Sure,” Loki nodded. “Would you keep company to our guest?”

 

“Of course I will,” he said with a slightly wicked grin as Loki got up from the bed.

 

“She woke up just now?”

 

“Yes. And she immediately asked for you, so…”

 

“Alright, we’ll see.” And like that, Loki disappeared up the stairs, leaving me alone with yet another vampire. His very own progeny…

 

“You don’t have to stay here…” I said. “I know it is difficult for you guys to be around me…”

 

He grinned and shook his head. “Loki is my maker. You don’t even count as a temptation to me. Though I have to say that you would, were you not marked by him.”

 

“I definitely don’t understand anything about you vampires and your affairs with each other…”

 

“Don’t worry. I don’t understand humanity. And I guess I never will. Your _affairs_ , as you put it, are too foreign for me.”

 

“But you were a human once. You must understand and feel _something_.”

 

“I can barely remember it… In fact, I don’t even want to remember it.”

 

I realised that the conversation was getting too personal so I decided to change the subject before he thought I was prying on them.

 

“Okay… I’m sorry about what happened to Amora, by the way. From what Loki told me, it was highly unfair.”

 

He sighed and looked down. “It definitely was. Amora used to irritate me because she was just so damn decent and trustworthy... And Sigyn was proud of her. She saw in her progeny someone who could contradict some old preconceptions about vampires. It is always difficult to lose someone of the nest.” In that moment I remembered what Loki told me about his older sister and wondered if Fenrir was already around when she died that horrible death. “However, right now Sigyn is the one who worries me.”

 

“You don’t think she can recover from this?”

 

“I am sure she can. But I fear she might not be the same vampire I passed the last centuries with. We kind of _grew up_ together.”

 

“I see… How old was Amora, though?”

 

“She was quite young… Just over two hundred.”

 

“Oh… So that’s… _young_.”

 

*

 

“Thor? Are you alright?”

 

I had to shake myself out of my reverie at Sif’s voice. That night, after work I was going to the old sanatorium with Mr. _Sunrise_. I would meet him after the end of my shift, at midnight.

 

I met with Sif for a quick meal before going to the bar, as usual, and she kept talking about the most trivial stuff that I didn’t even bother to pay attention to.

 

“Sorry! You were saying…?”

 

“It doesn’t matter,” she said good-humouredly, “it wasn’t important. Damn you were really zoned out!”

 

“I’m sorry! Really, I am. I know what it feels like, believe me.”

 

“You were thinking about that guy weren’t you?” Her eyes glint at the mere mention.

 

“What guy?!” I tried, but it was too obvious.

 

“Oh don’t even try, Thor… Tall, green eyes, black hair… really handsome in an exotic kind of way. Honestly, when I first met you I didn’t think you were gay…”

 

At that I started coughing. Really…

 

“What?!”

 

“Come on Thor…” she rolled her eyes. “Anyway it’s really not my business.”

 

“That is not the point. And it’s not that simple.”

 

And it wasn’t. It totally wasn’t. Especially after the night before; I had fallen asleep on his bed, totally exhausted because, come on, it’s tough to be up almost until dawn… When it finally came though, the scenery scared the shit out of me. I woke up to the alarm of my phone so I could catch the train and when I looked to the side, Loki looked… well, dead.

 

He wasn’t breathing, he was even colder and paler than usual and his body was stiff. He had said to me that vampires only wake up during the day in moments of stress – if they feel any menace to their rest, if their progeny is in danger, stuff like that. Apart from that, they only slept deeply, and nothing could wake them up, unless it was a threat. So, I simply made my way out, half expecting to see some bodyguards upstairs. There were none, which made me wonder what kind of protection they had during daytime.  

 

“Alright, alright! Don’t be upset. But if you ever need someone to talk to or… I don’t know, just to listen to you, I’m here, okay?” I didn’t even nod since I was completely dumbfounded. “Come on now, we need to go to work or we’ll be late.”

 

Against all odds, I didn’t do anything stupid or reckless while at the bar. I managed to focus and everything went smoothly.

 

At ten past midnight, as expected, Mr _. Sunrise_ was waiting for me in his car. I could already feel Loki’s presence in my head and it felt kind of soothing.

 

“Good evening, Thor. Are you ready for this journey?”

 

“As ready as I can be,” I answered with a smile.


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's another little but of this story. This part has a mild level of violence. You've been warned ;)
> 
> I hope you enjoy!!

“Welcome to _Light Kingdom_.”

 

Those were Mr. _Sunrise_ ’s words as he opened the sanatorium’s gate for me. We walked the short distance to the main entrance which had an apparatus destined for retinal scan. Mr. _Sunrise_ removed his glasses and approached the device. Suddenly I felt like I was part of some sci-fi film…

 

Inside there was a large hall with a main desk. Behind it, a secretary – or so I assumed - was working vividly on a computer. All the walls were white and the light was bright and strong, reflecting in the walls. If it was like this everywhere, I could image that no vampire would feel comfortable under such a strong light.

 

“Good evening, Eve. This is Mr. Thor.” The secretary looked up and her eyes scrutinized me. It made me feel quite uncomfortable and think that she would not be as easy to convince as Mr _. Sunrise_. “He wishes to join us. We had dinner last week, I’m not sure if you remember me telling you about it.”

 

“Of course I do… Don’t you think it is too soon to bring him here, though?” I truly hate it when people talk about me as if I wasn’t there…

 

“I just want to be useful to your project,” I said, hopefully convincing.

 

Mr. _Sunrise_ chuckled shaking his head. “Don’t worry. Everything is under control and from our conversation, I think Thor will truly appreciate our facilities and will be a good add to our staff.”

 

They looked at each other for a moment, in which it seemed he was convincing her in a telepathic way.

 

“Whatever pleases you,” she said with a nod. For a moment I feared I had been caught but then I heard Loki’s voice in my head.

 

_He is not suspicious, don’t worry. Somehow this man seems to trust you._

 

“The guys caught another one. She’s in the _examination room_.”

 

“Good!” He turned to me then. “It seems like this is your lucky night, Thor. Follow me.”

 

_What you’re going to see is probably going to be shocking. Whatever you do though, **do not** show any pity and do not let them realise that it disgusts you. _

_What do you mean?_

_They will probably torture that vampire. And if you leave, **then** , they will be suspicious. _

 

“This has been a _terrific_ month,” Mr. Sunrise said as I followed him across the main corridors. “A few days ago we caught a vampire from a powerful nest. You know what a nest is?” He turned left to a staircase; we hurriedly climbed two floors and a man in a white lab coat passed by. “Good evening, Carson.”

 

The man nodded and looked at me with curious eyes.

 

“I think I can guess…” I shrugged.

 

He turned right to yet another white and brightly lightened corridor. “There are not many vampire nests nowadays. From what we observe they tend to be solitary these days instead of forming nests like before. However, they still exist and, as you can imagine, the oldest and most powerful vampires are usually part of them.”

 

“How do you know this stuff?”

 

“You’ll see in time.”

 

He stopped at a grey door and turned to me. “This is one of the rooms where we bring vampires after they’re captured.”

 

I nodded and tried to look eager to see what was behind that door. When he opened it, there was a large room separated with a strong glass wall. A door made the connection between the two parts but it was currently closed. On the other side, was a man with dark hair and glasses sitting on a chair face to face with a female vampire. She was being held in place by another large man, with silver chains around her hands, ankles and… neck. Her fangs were out but it was hopeless… With those chains it would be impossible for her to move.

 

“First there’s a little interrogation. We try to know how old the creature is, if the maker is still alive if they have progeny, etc… They are not very cooperative as you can imagine, hence the chains.”

 

“Why do you care about that stuff? Why not pass to the next phase immediately.”

 

“To defeat your enemy you need to understand them. This place is not just an eradication venue… We’re studying these creatures, we’re discovering and evaluating their fears, their connections with each other, their habits, their… special powers. We believe some very old vampires have powers that we haven’t witnessed yet. Unfortunately we haven’t caught any of those. Not yet, I mean,” he winked.

 

 _Ask him what kind of powers he is talking about_.

 

“What kind of powers?”

 

“We have old reports from people who claim they saw them shifting into animals for example. Or even flying. For now that stands as a rumour though. However, we know for a fact that in this country there is a nest of extremely old vampires and respective progeny. If any of these rumours are true, we believe this nest may prove them right. To mess up with them, though, we need to train with the _little ones_ like her first.”

 

 _This is an unimaginable bastard_ …

 

_Focus, Thor._

_Sorry_.

 

He signalled to the guy that was inquiring the vampire to come closer and moments later I was being introduced to Dr. _Daylight_. These code names couldn’t get any more ridiculous I’m sure…

 

“Did she speak?”

 

“Not much… She’s basically cursing everything and I can tell she’s freaked out. I’d say she was turned less than twenty years ago, by the lack of confidence and the fearful attitude,” he shrugged. “We can proceed to do some tests, but we won’t learn much from her…”

 

I took that moment to truly look at the girl. She was dark-haired and had the appearance of someone in her early twenties. Her skin was covered in dirt and dry blood and her eyes were filled with bloody tears. Of course she was frightened… Who wouldn’t be?

 

“What will we do with her, then?”

 

“I’d prefer to talk to you in private, if you don’t mind?”

 

“Sure…”

 

With that, they excused themselves and went into a corner, leaving me standing there, hands in my pockets.

 

_What will they do with her? Can’t we save her?_

 

 _I don’t think so, Thor… If we did something now it would immediately expose us. We need to be prudent_.

 

I sighed closing my eyes and did my best to continue the façade.

 

Within a couple of minutes, Mr. _Sunrise_ was back at my side while the other guy went back to the other side of the glass wall.

 

“Is everything alright?”

 

“Of course. Dr. _Daylight_ will try once again to make her speak. She’s a nobody in the vampire society though… That much is already clear.”

 

“So what happens to her?” I asked as I saw the guy that was holding her in place tighten up the chains even more, making her scream in pain.

 

“Standard procedure only. Come, I’ll show you the rest of our facilities.”

 

*

 

“It was horrible… When they showed me the execution cage, it was… it was still covered in… burnt flesh.”

 

Loki had to close his eyes at that. “I know.”

 

“They test their speed in these ridiculous machines, they test how long they can stand under different kinds of light, they test how long they can live without blood, they try some medicines and stuff on them trying to find one that reveals to be toxic… It’s so disgusting, Loki.”

 

“At least now we’re sure of many things that happen there.”

 

“They have a lot of new recruits, apparently. Most of them are young men that just want to hunt vampires, for the thrill of it. From what I understood, they barely go into the sanatorium. They just deliver the prey, as Mr. _Sunrise_ so eloquently put it. The sanatorium is mainly for their _investigation_ and… well, for the executions.”

 

We were inside Loki’s car, in Edinburgh’s suburbs. By that time I didn’t fear being alone with him in an empty alley like the one we were at. I was telling him more details about the night before, not that there was a lot to tell; he saw most of what was happening in there through my eyes.

 

“I think the secretary is suspicious of me, though… And even the doctor – that is, if he’s truly a doctor – didn’t seem to buy my words as easily as Mr. _Sunrise_.”

 

“They will realise sooner or later. We just have to keep it long enough until it’s time to act.”

 

“That poor girl, though… I couldn’t sleep just thinking about her frightened eyes… Do you think she still lives?”

 

“I think so. But I doubt they will keep her for a long time.”

 

In that precise moment, we heard a scream. Loki immediately went into alert mode and something told me he already knew what was happening. At the end of the road, right in front of our car, a guy covered in chains tried to escape two other muscular guys that were chasing him. He could barely stand though, and it was clear it was a lost case. It took me a while to realise what was happening honestly, but when I finally did, my heart started beating even faster.

 

“It’s them!” I looked at Loki whose eyes were already changing colour. So, anger also made them turn silver. “We need to do something!”

 

“Stay close to me,” he hissed before getting out of the car. I did as he told me and walked by his side.

 

The vampire was shrieking and screaming in pain, hopelessly trying to get up and get himself free from the burning silver chains. I could already smell the burned flesh and I could only image the pain he must have been feeling… I walked by Loki’s side, keeping up with his fierce pace.

 

The two guys finally saw us approaching and one of them caught up with the unfortunate vampire, grabbing the chains to make him stop. The poor thing screamed even louder, probably feeling the chains digging even deeper into his skin.

 

“Stop this madness,” Loki said in his stern but low voice.

 

“You are not our boss to tell us to stop. We will take this creature where it belongs and I suggest you both stay out of the way.”

 

There was a small moment of silence before Loki burst out laughing. It was hysterical even.

 

“Human. Do not _dare_ telling me what to do. I am far from being one of the benevolent ones. I’ve lived long enough to know better. I will not hesitate to kill you both if you do not let go of that vampire.”

 

Shit was getting real…

 

“Who the fuck are you?”

 

“I am Loki of the Northern Dragon Nest. Of course you have no idea what that means nor will I care about explaining it to you. But believe me what I tell you that I will not hesitate,” in that moment his fangs came out and I was staring at him, dumbfounded. What hell did that speech mean? “to crush you both.”

 

“So you’re another fucking vampire,” the second guy said. My hands turned into fists as he picked up another silver chain from his backpack. 

 

They were no match for Loki though, even though they only realised it too late. Before the guy with the chain could even blink, Loki was behind him, twisting his arm back in a painful way, breaking it effortlessly. The guy screamed his lungs out as the first one stood there petrified, still holding the vampire in place.

 

“Drop the chains, or I’ll do the same to the other one,” Loki hissed, his expression completely enraged. The young man, crying now, did as he was told and Loki let go of him, letting him fall to the floor, clutching his broken arm.

 

“You, let go of him, right now,” he said, approaching the other guy as he bared his fangs at him. “Do not even _try_ anything, for your own safety. You’re lucky that I’m in a good mood.” Trembling he let go of the vampire and stepped back, going near his companion. “Do not move another inch,” he looked at me then. “Come.” Still quite taken aback, I approached him and he grabbed my arm, turning again to the two guys. “You will forget this man’s face, you will forget there was someone else here, besides me.”

 

What? Was that a glamor? From the vacant looks on their faces, I could that that was exactly what he was doing.

 

“However, you will remember me. Now, go. Go to your boss. And tell him _all_ about me.”

 

Awkwardly, they got up and ran, as fast as they could. The one with the broken arm was obviously in worse shape but the other didn’t seem to care, as he ran quite ahead.


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys!  
> Sorry for taking so long again, but it is a difficult period to sit down and write properly...  
> Anyway, hope you enjoy this one! It is my favorite chapter so far.

As the two guys disappeared, I started pulling at the chains that seemed to be killing the vampire.

 

“Stay back!” Loki said grabbing my arm. “I’ll do it, it is to dangerous for you to be near a vampire in pain,” he warned me.

 

I nodded and stepped back. I saw him grabbing the chains and he didn’t even hiss when his skin started to inflame. “But you’ll hurt yourself!”

 

“Do not worry. I will heal before you even have the chance to blink.”

 

The vampire whimpered as he was freed, occasionally hissing when Loki pulled at a chain that was already buried into his flesh. When he was finally released, he collapsed on the floor, eyes closed. Loki approached him again and carefully lifted his head.

 

“Can you hear me?”

 

“Yes… Thank- thank you.” He was panting, obviously still in great pain.

 

“Where is your maker?”

 

“Dead,” he gulped and opened his eyes. “She was killed years ago, by another vampire… I had been turned only a few months prior.”

 

“Then it is quite miraculous that you are still here…”

 

Suddenly, he took a deep breath and his nostrils flared to life. His eyes found me and he gave me that hungry look I was already familiar with. Of course, Loki held him in place.

 

“Do not even think about it” he turned to me then. “I have some cans of synthetic blood in the back of my car. Can you go fetch two?”

 

I nodded and walked the short distance to the car, perfectly able to hear them.

 

“What is that smell?!”

 

“He is _mine_ , you understand. You touch him and you’re dead.”

 

He seemed to take it seriously, but even so, Loki signalled for me to throw the cans at him instead of getting too close. He wasn’t a menace; Loki just didn’t want to kill a vampire, especially one he had just saved, so he was taking precautions in his own _charismatic_ way.

 

“Now tell me, what is your name and how did get captured?” Loki asked, offering him a can of blood. The vampire drank it greedily and took another deep breath.

 

“My name is Fandral, I’ve been a vampire for twenty years or so. I’ve been alone most of the time and… if I’m still alive it’s probably due to luck… Nothing like what happened tonight had ever happened to me. If it wasn’t you I would be dead. There was nothing I could do to save myself from a situation like this. We think of ourselves as being so strong and clever, yet it was quite easy for them to get me.”

 

“A bait?”

 

“Yes… A woman eluded my senses completely and when I was about to feed from her they threw the chains at me. After that I was completely at their mercy. Whenever I tried to escape it would hurt even more. They were going to take me to that place where they kill us at sunrise, right? I heard about it, but I didn’t believe it was true…”

 

“Well, it is… do you have a place to spend the day?”

 

“Yes… I always find something,” that didn’t seem very reassuring to me, but I also knew Loki wouldn’t help him much more than he already had.

 

“Very well. Take care of yourself,” he turned to me then, “let’s go.”

 

I could feel Fandral’s eyes on my back as I walked besides Loki to his car. He would suck my blood till the last drop if he could, of that I had no doubt.

 

“What a mess…” I sighed as we got into the car. “Do you think he’ll be okay?”

 

“I think he learned a valuable lesson tonight that might help him survive a while longer. But I cannot take him to the Nest.”

 

“I understand…”

 

He started the engine and drove in silence for a while.  All the time I was playing the scene in my mind – the vampire captured by two very large men and then, the way Loki so easily scared them to death. With such power, why didn’t he simply break into that horrible place and teach them a lesson? I knew he said that we shouldn’t underestimate anyone, because that would lead to failure. But… how can anyone overpower him?

 

Also, there had been something else in my mind.

 

“Loki?”

 

“Yes.”

 

“What did you mean by the Northern Dragon Nest?”

 

“It’s the name of our Nest.”

 

“Yes, but, what does it mean? If I may ask so…”

 

He didn’t say anything for a few minutes so I assumed he was ignoring me. However… that wasn’t true.

 

“It is our symbol.”

 

“A dragon?”

 

“In a way yes, though we were never able to spit fire,” he laughed. I was just as confused as before though.

 

“In ancient times, shape shifting was common among vampires. Only the first vampires and their progeny - the ancients, we are called - are able to do it, though, that is why there is still some kind of differentiation among us. You remember when I spoke about ancient vampires, right? Do you remember asking why my eyes turned silver contrary to other vampires you’ve met?” I merely nodded. “Ancient vampires can also shape shift even though nowadays… we really don’t. It made sense only in a different time and a different era.”

 

I was processing the information in my head and wondering what else there was to know about Loki. Vampire, shape shifter, mind reader… endless power. But still… he wouldn’t survive more than a few minutes under the sun rays. How ironic was that?

 

“So… you can turn into a dragon…” The words sounded weird, if not even silly.

 

“A big winged creature. Not exactly the mythological dragon you see in books and films.”

 

 _A big winged creature_ … The way he said that as if it was the most natural thing in the world was somehow endearing.

 

“And why did it make sense back then and not now?”

 

“I will let you take your own conclusions as time goes.”

 

“That is quite unfair…”

 

“It is not something I can _explain_ … As I told you many times before, the world is in constant change. Humans do not realise it the way we do, due to your short lives. You read about most of the changes in beliefs, demeanours, ways of thinking, technologies, instead of living them. Believe me, it is a different prospect and you only have two choices: adapt or die.”

 

“And some chose to die?”

 

“More than you would imagine.”

 

We didn’t share any other words along the way to his place. I was completely lost in my thoughts, processing the information he just gave me. When Sigyn referred the shape-shifting thing, my mind automatically assumed that he could turn into a different human appearance. But still _human_. Not a _creature_ resembling a dragon?

 

 _What_?!

 

“Thor!” Loki’s voice shook me out of my reverie. “You were completely zoned out.”

 

“Yeah, just… trying to process everything.”

 

“Don’t try too hard… Or you might end up frying your brains,” he chuckled getting out of the car.

 

I followed him out of the car and through the house gate, still feeling quite out of place there. Secretly, I hoped the house was empty, or at least that I didn’t have to face Sigyn’s misery once again, but there was no such luck… In fact, I had to face her sooner that I thought.

 

The house had a porch swing near the front door and, upon it laid Sigyn, her head on Fenrir’s lap as he played with her curls. Her eyes were still as vacant as I could remember and she didn’t even seem to acknowledge our presence. On the other hand, Fenrir, turned his head towards us and smiled.

 

“Hello there. Isn’t this such a pleasant night?” His azure eyes seemed to be studying me once again, but that second time it didn’t make me feel as uneasy and exposed.

 

“Indeed,” Loki said in a low voice, his eyes on Sigyn. Fenrir’s irony was obvious; he probably already knew everything that happened since he’s also telepathically connected to Loki. No of them seemed to want to disturb Sigyn though, and I was thankful for that. “I need to speak to Helblindi and Angrboda.”

 

“They are waiting for you. Thor can keep us company,” he spoke as if Sigyn would even be aware of me there… It was sweet in a way.

 

So Helblindi was there already. Another ancient vampire… _Perfect_.

 

Before I could even start to feel stressed, Loki was gone.

 

“Do not worry, Thor, nobody will cause you any harm, especially after what you did tonight.”

 

“What? Now you can read my thoughts, too?” It came out a little more aggressive than I intended but Fenrir seemed to shrug it off.

 

“Not at all. But it is not difficult to figure it out through your body language. Come on, grab that chair and join us,” he said, nodding to a chair on the other side of the porch.

 

I did so and sat down near them, my eyes landing on Sigyn whose eyes were closed now.

 

“Is she any better?”

 

“She drank some blood at last,” he ran a finger through her forehead. It still surprised me how affectionate some vampires seemed to be with each other. “She will overcome this.”

 

“You both seem very close…”

 

“Like I told you before, we kind of grew up together. We were turned in the same period and we both had to be there for our makers when their _big sister_ passed away.”

 

“Farbauti.”

 

“Yes,” silence fell upon us then, and Fenrir turned his eyes to Sigyn. The night was so calm than when he spoke again he startled me. “What you did tonight was very brave. I am sorry you had to see those terrible things… Loki showed them to me as you already assumed.”

 

“It was nothing-“

 

“Oh yes, it was… A friend of yours died there, too, right?”

 

“Yes. His name was Volstagg. He didn’t deserve it either.”

 

“You know, when I was turned I felt so unlucky… I kept asking _why me_? As a human, I just wanted to die… I felt like I deserved to die.”

 

“Well, you kind of did…” I joked.

 

Fenrir chuckled but nodded. “What you think you or other people deserve is always so uncertain… It is only in the long run that you can see what everybody’s actions truly lead into. I was a Visigoth and my family had been murdered when I was a kid. Politics stuff… So I became a servant in order to survive. Well, that was what it looked like on the outside, but in the end, I ended up being nothing more than a male whore.” That made me gasp. “It was the only way to stay alive… Old men found me _cute_ and fuckable so I became sort of a plaything to them. Sometimes they would fuck me, other times they just wanted to see me having sex with other people in the same situation as myself. Everything for their entertainment. I was about to give it all up, I wanted to end my life, I was so tired… That was when I met Loki. Or… in better words, when Loki found me. Till this day, I don’t know what he saw in me and at first I thought about this vampire life as yet another curse. But that didn’t last long and finally, I felt like I belonged somewhere. I had a family that I knew would never desert me.”

 

He looked back a Sigyn then, and when he lifted his eyes to me again, I could only find tenderness for her.

 

“Thank you for telling me this.”

 

“I like you, Thor… You have a good spirit. And I am so glad Loki found you, too. You do him good.”

 

“Well… I believe that it’s my blood that does him good.”

 

“It is not that simple…”

 

In that moment Loki came out of the house accompanied by a very tall and strong black man that I assumed was Helblindi.

 

“I presume you are Thor,” he said in a deep voice.

 

“I am.”

 

He extended his hand and I took it. “Thank you.”

 

*

 

“All this gratitude is kind of making me feel uneasy,” I said as I followed Loki down the stairs into his basement room. “I did nothing special… I just went into that place and- mmmhh”

 

I didn’t get to finish my sentence as Loki was already all over me.

 

I wrapped my arms around his waist bringing him even closer to me, our gasps and moans filling the room. Clumsily, we started tugging at each other’s clothes, the urgency too strong to be bearable. When we were completely naked, I pushed Loki against the wall nibbling and grabbing any part of that impossibly white skin of his. I could feel his muscles contracting under my hands and his moans would only encourage me more.

 

Initially, the fact that his skin didn’t heat up felt quite strange. Usually, I felt the skin of my previous partners burn under my touch. However, that only added to Loki’s uniqueness.

 

I started kissing down his abdomen, his hands immediately fisting in my hair.

 

“Oh Thor…” I heard him hissing. I grabbed his hard cock when I kneeled and when I looked up at him his eyes were silver and his fangs were out. I had never ever done that before. Hell, before meeting Loki the thought of having a dick in my mouth would disgust me. In that moment though, I wanted nothing more than to taste him…

 

I ran my tongue over the tip first, enjoying the way he was giving himself into pleasure. It was impossible for me to wait another second though, so I leaned forward and took him in as deep as possible. I could hear a deep grunt as his knees went weak. I moved my arm around his thigh so I could grab his ass with one hand and started moving my head up and down. With my free hand I started tugging at my own, very needy cock. Loki’s hisses became more urgent and after a few more sucks he was pulling my hair, urging me to get up again.

 

He kissed me urgently then and, with a little jump, he wrapped his legs around my waist, “to the bed, Thor,” he whispered seductively in my ear. “You have to take me now.”

 

“You won’t have to say that twice.”

 

We fell onto the bed, Loki’s legs still around my waist and our cocks rubbing against one another.

 

“I’ve never done this…” I rasped. “What shall I do? Lubricants?”

 

Loki leaned back then, still panting. In my eyes, he had never looked as beautiful as in that moment… The low lights marking every angle on his face, his eyes that beautiful shade of silver, his lips red and those deadly fangs… I wanted to bury my dick in him with no mercy, claim him my own.

 

“I don’t need that… just spit is enough.”

 

I merely nodded and spitted in my hand before wrapping it around my cock for a couple of strokes.

 

“Now, Thor. Fuck me as hard as you can.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If there's anyone there familiar with Spartacus TV series, I picture this Helbindi as Doctore :)


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry again for the long wait :/ Anyway, I hope you enjoy and please tell me your thoughts :) Good or bad!

I woke up before the sun rose, having slept merely about two hours. Loki wasn’t by my side and for a moment I just stayed there, lying still wondering if our… _escapade_ had been only a product of my imagination. Any doubts were dismissed as I touched the scar on my neck. If I had thought that feeding Loki had been erotic before… well, I had a whole new experience to keep in my mind after that night.

 

In between our erratic breaths and movements, Loki _informed_ me that he was going to bite me when he climaxed. Well... it was kind of him to warn me first, even though I doubted I would complain.

 

When he did it though, something shot through me that made my imminent orgasm impossible to delay another second. I had no idea why and I wasn’t about to question, but I felt like a hundred shocks running through my body, starting from where his teeth were buried. It was like an orgasm initiated right _there_ , instead of in my dick. It may sound too strange and stupid, but damn… it was so satisfying and sensual in its own way. Just thinking about its exquisiteness was making me grow hard again.

 

Loki then appeared on top of the stairs and winked at me before making his way down to the basement.

 

“Are you already leaving?”

 

I knew he wasn’t asking me to, jut merely curious to see me awake.

 

“I do not intend to leave right now… It’s still too cold and too dark out there. And your basement is surprisingly comfortable.”

 

Loki chuckled as he made his way to the bed and under the covers.

 

“Ah… To think some vampires still prefer to sleep underground… A simple bed feels so good.”

 

“Well… I am glad you don’t sleep in a coffin… It would be really creepy if you ever asked me to have sex with you in there.”

 

At that he smiled shaking his head. It was great to feel that he was letting his guard down around me. Finally… it took me months to get an honest, non-mischievous smile from him.

 

“I hate them… But I had to use them in the past. Particularly by the time I turned Fenrir… Back then I was responsible for that _child_ and trying to make him feel safe for once in his life. Underground…” he chuckled again. “Those were very troubled times for vampires. Many humans knew about us and wished to hunt us. Then we luckily turned into myths.”

 

“Fenrir told me about his past, when he was human, you know?”

 

Unexpectedly, that caught him by surprise, and he turned to me, frowning. I thought he had known already, since he was telepathically connected to both Fenrir and me.

 

“He did, huh?”

 

“Yes… you didn’t know? Sorry but it’s been a while since I’ve told you something you didn’t know already,” I joked.

 

“I was absorbed in my meeting with Helblindi and Angrboda, and since you were with Fenrir… I didn’t need to worry about your safety so I just… _turned-off_.”

 

“I see… Well, I could never imagine that his human life had been so messy…”

 

Another moment of silence. It was shorter than I anticipated though.

 

“I had been following Fenrir since he was a little boy, he was special.”

 

“In what way?”

 

“A genius yet graceful mind. Even though he was used and abused with work as a child, he seemed to always find something to be thankful for, or something to brighten up his days. And he just had a special aura which manifested itself in the most eccentric ways. I remember his compere had a wolf at the time. He used him to scare the servants and sometimes even to kill them. One day, I don’t remember why, maybe just for the thrill of it, he ordered the wolf to scare Fenrir, not to kill him, but to bite. The wolf wouldn’t do it. That obnoxious man never understood why and a few days later the wolf was dead. Fenrir buried him secretly, with tears in his eyes.”

 

“But why didn’t the wolf hurt him?”

 

“Like me, the wolf kind of perceived he was special. Fenrir bounded quite easily with animals, he always had a special touch. And that wolf felt it, which lead him to disobey his master for the first and only time in his life.”

 

“That’s… depressing, really. Is he your only progeny?”

 

“No,” another pause. “I have two more, older than him.”

 

“Where are they?”

 

“Unlike Fenrir, they didn’t adapt to the nest. In the beginning yes, but as the years went by it became obvious that they would want to follow their own path together.”

 

“They _left_? Just like that?”

 

“Vampire couples usually do not fit well in nests, unless they are created by them, which was the case of my maker and Farbauti. So, I knew they were destined to leave, sooner or later. It was obvious that they were drifting apart from the nest, especially from Fenrir. It was a conscious act, so that Fenrir would get even closer to me. When they felt it was the right time, they asked me to free them. How could I deny it?”

 

“I imagine it must have been difficult…”

 

“No… I wouldn’t use that word. It was natural. Of course I was melancholic to see them go, knowing that it was probably the last time we were together, but it was meant to be like that.”

 

I knew it was impossible for him to fully explain that concept to me. I was completely foreign to such feelings of maker and progeny.

 

“What were they called?”

 

“Sleipnir and Hela.”

 

“And now you cannot even feel them the way you feel Fenrir?”

 

“The only thing I can feel is that they are still in this world. I have no idea where and if they are well… But I know they are still together.”

 

“That must be of some comfort…”

 

“It is…” He was silent then, probably thinking about the couple. I lay back down and closed my eyes, knowing the conversation was over. The sun was surely about to rise so he would go into his _dead mode_ soon, anyway.

 

*

 

The following night I returned to the sanatorium, after meeting with Mr. _Sunrise_ at the usual place. I had no car so it was difficult for me to go there on my own.

 

“Something happened last night.”

 

I tried my best to look surprised and interested. Of course I knew what he was talking about… “Is everything alright?”

 

“Two of our watchers were attacked. We’ll see what information they can give us as soon as they’re able to talk coherently.”

 

“That bad, huh?”

 

“One has a broken arm and still in complete shock. The other one will probably be able to talk tonight, or so I hope. I can tell you this was no ordinary vampire, though… These guys are used to deal with them; they are the first ones we hired. No… this _thing_ that attacked them was quite different from their common targets…”

 

“Do you think it could be someone from the old nest you spoke about on the other night?”

 

“I’m sure…”

 

He didn’t speak for the rest of the ride and I decided not to push him further. As soon as we arrived I followed him through a different path to a part of the sanatorium that I hadn’t seen yet. It seemed to be some kind of a human infirmary, to treat people in case something went wrong. I immediately recognised the two guys lying there and hoped that Loki’s mesmerizing tricks had worked. If they remembered me, then everything would be over.

 

“How are they doing?” He asked to a guy I hadn’t met yet. Apparently there was no time or patience for introductions that night.

 

“Clive will talk, I believe. We were just waiting for you to arrive.”

 

At that, Mr. _Sunrise_ rushed to Clive’s bed and didn’t even lose time with formalities.

 

“What happened?”

 

“He… he came out of nowhere…”

 

“Angus… easy… he’s still weak.” The other guy said.

_Angus_. That had been the first time I’d heard Mr. _Sunrise_ first name.

 

“Who is _he_?”

 

“We… we had caught this stupid vampire. It had been all pretty easy. Sarah seduced him as usual and… before he could even think about it he was wrapped up in chains.”

 

“Right… but that’s not the one that attacked you.”

 

“No… It was when we were dragging him to the van – it was stupid of us, I know, we should have parked nearer – but that was when _he_ came out of nowhere.”

 

“Did _he_ say anything at all?”

 

“At first he just told us to let the vampire go, but of course we resisted. When he got closer though… well, he was intimidating. Just the way he looked at us… that must be the way the devil looks at people. And when his fangs came out… his eyes turned silver. Silver! You know I’ve seen many vampires at their most aggressive behaviour, with fangs out and all, but that look… I had never seen it before.”

 

The guy was shaking violently just by talking about it.

 

“Correction. You saw _frightened_ young vampires…. A lot of them. Did he say anything regarding his origins?”

 

“Yes…” he closed his eyes for a moment and gulped. “I didn’t understand what he meant but he said – _I am Loki of the Northern Dragon Nest_.”

 

At that, Angus whole body stiffened and his eyes widened. “Are you sure about it?”

 

“I will never forget it Mr. _Sunrise_.”

 

Of course you won’t. You pissed on your pants.

 

“So it is _them_ … They have been under our noses all this time.” He whispered more to himself than to anyone else in the room. Come, Thor. I need to call a meeting and I will need a witness to confirm what he said.”

 

“Mr. _Sunrise_ we haven’t even spoke about my role here… Are you sure it is wise that I go with you? People might not be happy about a newbie interfering in such serious matters.”

 

“You are not interfering. Just do as I say, your role here is to obey me and to take care of things of my interest.”

 

What the hell? What happened to the good manners of the previous night?


	13. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> New chapter finally people :) Sorry for the huge delay again, but, as usual, I've been really busy :/ I hope this story is still of some interest to you guys. I will continue as long as I feel it is entertaining someone :)

That night, I didn’t have time to be with Loki, as they kept me in there almost until sunrise. I knew he had been listening through my head though, but the fact that I had no idea about his thoughts was leaving me uneasy. I wasn’t sure if he was planning something but he had no right of keeping it from me. After all, I was risking my own life by going there.

 

By that point, I was sure some people there were suspicious of me. Especially Eve, the secretary who was so much more than just a secretary. I was also starting to realise that Mr. _Sunrise_ was merely a face in the whole project. In the beginning I thought he was the brain behind it but I had been wrong.  Eve was one of the _bosses_. And apart from her, there was Adam, a tall thin guy with an angular face. Of course you’ve probably realised by now that Adam and Eve are not their real names… They call themselves like that because they are the founders of the institute, and having a religious name seemed almost logical.

 

I wonder though, if they knew that back then that Adam and Eve were actually expelled from paradise?

 

Anyway, those two would barely look at me and I was starting to wonder why they wouldn’t simply throw me out.

 

“The _Northern Dragon Nest_ is a myth. I am sure that was just an ordinary vampire that used that to scare your guys, Angus.” Adam proclaimed.

 

“It is not a myth…” Eve said and all eyes turned to her. “I’m not saying this vampire actually belongs to it and I have no idea if it still exists or not. But even if there is no nest now, there was one not long ago. Our studies show us precisely that, how can you doubt it when there are so many manuscripts from our ancestors?”

 

“We need to be rational,” he insisted.

 

“We are being rational. I also do not believe the nest still exists, but I don’t deny that it did once. And I can’t also deny that they could shift their human form into some unique creatures. The manuscripts are too detailed and specific and there are many of them, written by different people but saying describing the same scenarios.”

 

“And how can you be so sure that this vampire that came out of nowhere isn’t related with that nest?” Mr. _Sunrise_ asked. I could tell that he was desperate to make her believe that Loki was indeed a dangerous ancient vampire. “He said his name was Loki. I believe some of those manuscripts mention a vampire with that name. He was captured once actually, but managed to escape. His nest sister took his place.”

 

“I am not sure, Angus, but I need evidence. We are a scientific team. That is what is going to make us victorious in the end. Our ancestors only saw monsters and magic and that is why they failed. As far as I know this vampire could have heard of the real Loki and simply make up that name to scare us.”

 

“What about his eyes turning silver? We’ve had many vampires here, and that has never happened until now. Loki was described as the _Silver Dragon_ before. When he desperately tried to save his sister he showed the demon inside him. Those are more or less the words.”

 

“I’m happy that you’ve been studying your lessons, Angus.” She chuckled and winked. “And as I said before, I do believe the manuscripts. But what happened to your men could have been a simple hallucination. Or, maybe, the vampire could have hypnotised them. They don’t need to be ancient nest vampires to be able to hypnotise humans.”

 

“What do you suggest we do, then?” Mr. _Sunrise_ asked. “My men are waiting for instructions.”

 

“We wait for the next strike. We prepare ourselves.”

 

The look she sent my way when she said that made me shiver and wonder exactly how much that woman knew about me.

 

*

 

I managed to go home and sleep for a few hours. Naturally I woke up exhausted but luckily I still had some hours before going to work. I needed to do some errands and buy some food and stuff for the house so I began to do just that, trying to take my mind out of that sanatorium.

 

That night, like I said, I had to work and, as usual for the last few weeks, I wasn’t in shape for the job. I was still tired and almost jet lagged and of course the clients wouldn’t be giving me much tips that night.

 

“Thor, can I see you for a few minutes, please?” Liv, my boss’ wife, called me just as I was taking off my coat to start my shift. As I looked at the clock I noticed that I was late. Again.

 

 

“Come in. Take a sit.” Before that night, I had only been in that office twice in my life. The first time for my interview and the second time, to be warned about my lack of professionalism.

 

“I know I’m late. I’m so sorry but…” What could I say? There was no excuse. “I’ve been dealing with some heavy personal problems-“

 

“Thor, you need to draw a line between your personal matters and your job…” She started as she took a seat at her desk, opposite me. “Otherwise you will never keep a job for long. And God knows these days you cannot risk a work position so deliberately.” She paused and I looked down. This was starting to sound really bad. “You were my choice. Carson wanted someone with more experience in this area but you were by far the most charismatic among the few candidates. The first couple of months proved me right. What you had in lack of experience you certainly made up with your persona. Clients loved you, Thor. Well, in fact they still do. But we cannot risk having an employee who’s constantly late and with a face of someone who hasn’t slept in days.”

 

It is only then that things started to sink in.

 

“Wha-what do you mean?”

 

She took a deep breath and swallowed. I could tell that it wasn’t something easy for her to do either.

 

“We have to dismiss you, Thor. I wish things had been different but you were warned and nothing changed. Actually, I think it’s even getting worse.

 

*

 

“Is this seat taken?”

 

I looked up and frowned at the man smiling at me. I certainly wasn’t expecting him.

 

“Fenrir… What are you doing here? It is dangerous.”

 

“Oh, please,” he chuckled sitting down opposite me. I had worked that night, of course, and I would work during the two remaining weeks of the month, even though I didn’t know how I would be able to cope, knowing that I would be unemployed again.

 

After the shift I couldn’t go home, though. So I went to a pub that brought me some bittersweet memories. It was where I used to meet up with Volstagg.

 

“Loki asked me to come… He’s worried about you, but he cannot be here at the moment.”

 

“So you already know what happened…”

 

“I do. I am so sorry… If none of us had interfered in your life like that -“

 

“I would be dead,” I interrupted. “And I still believe it is better to be unemployed than dead,” I smiled weakly.

 

“Fair enough. It is still unfair to you, though. Is there anything I can do?”

 

I looked at him then, his eyes truly showing his concern and sighed deeply. “I guess not… I’ll just have to lift my sorry ass from here and start looking for another job. Seems quite simple, doesn’t it?”

 

“But do you have enough money to be alright in the meantime?”

 

“If the meantime lasts for no longer than two months I believe I will be fine.”

 

“Alright… Let’s get you home then, enough drinking. You need to wake up tomorrow with good spirits.”

 

He was probably right so I pushed my empty cup to the end of the table and stood, grabbing my jacket.

 

“You shouldn’t be wondering alone like this, Fen. Those guys are out there and they are dangerous… You know what they’re capable of.”

 

“I needed to check on you,” he said as we exited the pub.

 

“I’ve been through this before… I’ll manage.”

 

Truth to his word, Fenrir walked with me all the way to my flat. If I had known just for a split second what would happen, I would have insisted in going alone.

 

“It seems like a nice and quiet neighbourhood,” he said as we turned left into my street.

 

“Yeah, it’s alright… If you want to come up I have some bottled blood Loki left at my flat. I’m sure he wouldn’t be made if you drank one or two.”

 

“Thank you, but I have to head back. I just wanted-“

 

“Well, well, well… Are my eyes betraying me or this is Thor side by side with a vampire?”

 

Damn… Mr _. Sunrise_ ’s guys were at my flat’s front door.

 

“I beg your pardon? What the fuck are you doing here? I left it clear with Mr. _Sunrise_ that I didn’t want any of this interfering with my personal life. You have no right to come here in a night I’m off duty.”

 

“Mr. _Sunrise_ has nothing to do with this. I’m not exactly sure how he will react to the fact that _she_ has been right all this time. You are a fucking traitor!”

 

Eve… It was true then, my instinct had been right - she had been suspicious from day one.

 

“So! Since you have absolutely nothing to say in your defence, both of you are coming with us now! Whether you like it or not.”

 

Heart pounding, I jumped in front of Fenrir protectively. These guys would have to pass through me first. Something told me he would not be able to do what Loki did the other night. Only an ancient vampire has that power and even though Fenrir is Loki’s progeny, he was nothing more than a common “middle-aged” vampire in terms of _supernatural_ strength.

 

“We are not going anywhere. I obey to Mr. _Sunrise_ ’s orders only and even so, like I said, I’m off duty tonight, so if you’ll excuse us, we’d like to go inside the building.”

 

“Alright. You stay here if you want, that is minor right now and we will find you whenever it’s necessary, but the vampire is coming with us.”

 

“No-“

 

“Thor!” Fenrir spoke for the first time since the unfortunate encounter. “I will go.”

 

“No.” What the hell was he thinking? Was he mad? He knew what went on behind those walls.

 

“Trust me.”

 

“No! If you go in there they will let you burn like they did with Amora! I won’t let that happen!” I turned to the douchebags again but Fenrir grabbed my arm and I looked back at him. “We can escape these morons,” I whispered, “I know them, they are stupid as shit.”

 

“What is he to you, anyway? Your girlfriend?” Connor chuckled, elbowing his partner with a wink. Such a remark deserved nothing more than to be ignored.

 

“I do not doubt that, Thor,” he started in a low voice. “But the secret is out. From now on, it is only a matter of time and Loki and Angrboda and Helblindi just need an incentive to break into that dreadful place. I will be that incentive.”

 

“No, Fenrir! They will torture you and they will kill you.”

 

“They will want information from me, that is all. My maker will save me, I am sure of that.” His trust in Loki was endearing, but the fact that I had no idea why he had been so absent from my head was no comfort at all.

 

That is something I never thought I would admit to myself.

 

“Then, I will go, too.”

 

“Bla bla bla… Time’s up, lovers. Will you come willingly or not?”

 

“You are dead, both of you. You have no idea what the vampires from his nest can do.” I told him.

 

“No, Thor. You are. You are both screwed.

 

*

 

It was killing me to see the silver handcuffs around Fenrir’s wrists. Because he came willingly they didn’t put him in that horrible silver net, but they didn’t trust him enough to let him into the truck without any restraints. They threw us carelessly in the backside of the black truck and they were now driving us to our destiny. One that I got to know well over the last few weeks.

 

The material clung to Fenrir’s skin mercilessly, burning and digging through it. I could already see his flesh underneath and I just hopped they would take the damn things off once we arrived at the sanatorium.

 

“C-can you hear him?” He whispered to me, and I immediately knew who he was referring to.

 

“No… Which worries me. He has to know that we’re in this position and yet he chooses this precise time to go completely out of my head. It’s not normal…”

 

Fenrir said nothing and starred down at his damaged hands.

 

“Is there something I can do?”

 

“Don’t worry about me,” he trembled. “I’ve been through worse. Just focus on any signs he might sent you.”

 

“Fen, those people are crazy maniacs. I know you’ve been through a lot, but believe me that what you’re about to face can compete with whatever atrocities people have done to you in the past. And I refuse to just stand by and watch.”

 

He smiled weakly, but shock his head.

 

“That is precisely what you are going to do, Thor. You are going to cooperate with them.”

 

“Are you out of your mind?”

 

“We need to wait, without making them too angry. Until we have instructions we are at their mercy.”

 

 


	14. Chapter 14

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I think I can't even start to make excuses because there are none... Anyway, I started working on this chapter during my vacation and it was surprisingly easy to get back into this Universe. Of course I had to re-read it all but I think it was worth it... I just hope there's still someone interested in this silly vamp story :)

CHAPTER 14

When we arrived at the sanatorium they drove the van around it to the back entrance. Mr. Sunrise had explained to me once that was the room were they discharged the vampires so they wouldn’t have the slightest opportunity to escape. It was like letting a beast out in a closed compartment. Of course, said compartment was incredibly white and luminous to cause the biggest discomfort to the victim, or creature, like he’d said at the time.

Fenrir had blood coming out of his nose and his wrists seemed to be almost ripped apart by the silver cuffs. However, he seemed calm and collected. I guess he was trusting Loki to get us out of there. I was still feeling uneasy though… In my mind I couldn’t stop begging Loki to say something at last… At least give me the impression that he knew what was happening.

One of the guys grabbed a very weakened Fenrir by his clothes and tossed him out of the van.

“You could at least let him have some dignity! He did nothing wrong!”

“He is a damned vampire… That is wrong enough…”

Fenrir hissed on the floor, his fangs out, probably simply due to a natural reaction to pain and not an aggressive reaction.

“At least take those cuffs off, they will cut through his wrists!”

“They won’t.” A new voice echoed through the room. Mr. Sunrise. “So Eve had been right about you all this time…”

“Mr. Sunrise, I-“

“Shut up!” He yelled. “I just wish you were a vampire as well so I could watch you burn under the rising sun.”

He walked down the stairs until he stood in front of Fenrir who was finally gathering his strengths and trying to stand up.

“Mr. Sunrise, is it?” He asked in a hoarse tone. “I will do everything you say and give you every information you need. Under one condition. Let Thor go… He is a human, he does not belong here. Nothing of this is his fault. We used him to our benefit.”

“That’s not true-“ I started but was interrupted by Mr. Sunrise clapping his hands with a fake smile on his lips.

“So sweet… A vampire who is also a fucking fag… Do tell me… Who fucks who? I’m so curious!”

“Nobody… He’s not mine to fuck or do anything else with. You know Mr. Sunrise…” At that moment there was mischievousness in his eyes and voice and that was unusual in him. Suddenly, he sounded so much like Loki. “Unlike you humans, us vampires tend to be very loyal to each other, especially within the same nest.”

Mr. Sunrise fumed at that. He grabbed Fenrir by the front of his shirt and tried to sound menacing. “So you belong to a nest you piece of shit. At least I was right about that.”

“I do… And I will tell you everything you’ve been struggling to know about my nest. Oh yes… they are dangerous, you have no idea what they are capable of. I can tell you. But! You need to let Thor go…”

“Do think you are in a position where you can demand things?! You are not! We are experts in making vampires talk.”

“Actually… you are not.”

That really irritated Mr. Sunrise… I gulped when I saw him looking at the huge silver ring he had on his middle finger. “NO!”

But it was too late. By then three guys had to grab me back as I tried to reach forward to protect Fenrir from the ring that was now buried in his left eye. The cry of pain he let out was excruciating… “Please no! Leave him alone! I am the traitor, he has nothing to do with this!”

After what seemed like an eternity, that monster finally let go of poor Fenrir as he fell to the floor. He was breathing heavily and had a huge hole in his face and no left eye. I wasn’t sure if he would ever recover from that and be able to see again. 

“You still think you won’t talk?”

It took him a moment. But he answered.

“I wo-won’t. Let Thor go. I will tell you everything you want to know willingly. If you let Thor go.”

“Oh please let that boy go! It is actually a good idea, I want him out of my sight.”

Eve.

Mr. Sunrise looked up, still enraged but I believe he already knew that there was nothing he could do.

“But Eve-“

“He’s not important… And he actually did his job… Even if he wasn’t clever enough to avoid it and didn’t realise it until it was too late.” She looked at me with those presumptuous eyes I hated. “Thank you Thor,” she smiled and I swear I wanted to crush her head between my hands in that moment. “Thank you for helping us capture one of the eldest vampires in the country.”

“You bitch-“

“Not to fast!” one of the guys that was holding me back said mockingly. They were four now…

“Let him go home… Probably the other vampires of his nest will hunt him down for what he did.”

“They certainly will…” Fenrir managed to say and in that moment, as I looked into his remaining eye I knew he was playing along. He wanted me to go out and find Loki. Or even Angrboda or Helblindi. Someone! Right there I wouldn’t be of much help… I needed to get out even though it broke my heart to leave him there alone. “Loki will not let this pass.”

“Who?!” Mr. Sunrise immediately asked, grabbing Fenrir again as he hissed in pain.

“Let. Thor. Go.”

“Take him to the outer gate,” Eve continued. “He can make his way from there.”

*

It was difficult to try to think of a plan of action when the image of Fenrir without his eye haunted my thoughts. How could one man be so cruel? And what exactly were they planning to do to Fenrir? The more thought made me shiver.

Loki, please, give me a sign.

In that moment, I heard something moving in the bushes to my right. I yelped when a big wolf jumped in front of me. Good… That was exactly what I needed.

Do you remember Rowena? Follow her. 

“Loki?” I said out loud, letting out a breath of relief. “Where were you?! They got Fen!!”

I know. Follow her. I will explain later.

Heart pounding, I did as Loki told me and for about twenty minutes I followed Rowena through the woods.

Finally, I spotted a small abandoned house and I knew it had to be it. I sprinted forward and just before I arrived I saw Loki coming to the entrance, waiting for me. I wanted to punch him in the face for staying back for so long when I truly needed him but fortunately I was able to restrain myself.

“What were you thinking?! Fenrir is extremely hurt! That man burned his eye!”

Loki flinched at that for a fraction of time and touched his left eye. Only then I remembered… Sigyn had felt Amora burning when she was exposed to the sun. She felt as if she was burning to death herself and that was why she had been so traumatized… Loki must have felt everything Fenrir was going through…. However, because he was stronger than Sigyn he was able to carry on without showing it. 

“We will crush them,” he said and I frowned. “They think they’re using Fenrir as a bait so they can catch us but they forget that we’ve been through this before. They have no experience at all.”

“Good, but… what is taking you so long?”

“As painful as it is for me to say this, I needed Fenrir there. Or even you. I needed someone to be my eyes while we attack them.”

“Well… maybe you waited too long, Fenrir can barely see now!”

I regretted the words the moment they left my mouth. Loki’s eyes turned silver and he grabbed the back of my neck forcefully. “Watch your tongue, Thor. You don’t get to talk to me like that. You have no idea… You have no idea…”

“Just take him out of there…” I mumbled. I knew that apologising would do no good.

“That’s better,” he said, loosening the grip. He leaned forward then, to place a chaste kiss on the corner of my lips and suddenly, Angrboda, Helblindi and Sigyn were there as well.

Sigyn nodded at me with a small smile playing on her lips. I could tell that she had been waiting for this moment for a very long time. There were two more vampires there that I didn’t recognize. One of them looked like an old man with very sharp features and cold dark eyes. Loki extended his arm in his direction and he looked at me. He was taller than I was and I felt like a small child under his gaze. He looked even more intimidating than Loki himself.

“This is Laufey, my maker.” I gulped as I took in the implications of that. This had to bee something huge for all of them, to make him get out of his hole. “He won’t talk…”

I merely nodded. 

“And this is Jormungandr, Angrboda’s progeny.”

I nodded in the direction of the other vampire I hadn’t recognized. He nodded back but I could tell his mind was already far away.

“Well, introductions are made, let’s not waste our time. Thor, you will come with me.”

There was a flash of red light, and, in all honesty, I couldn’t believe what was happening right in front of my eyes.


	15. Chapter 15

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello people! Here's the next chapter. This is almost over! However, with the slow updates it could take many moths until it is completely finished :P
> 
> I hope you enjoy and please tell me what you think :)

CHAPTER 15

The Dragon.

It was true. And he looked… astounding. I only had a couple of seconds to admire what was before me but it wasn’t a problem because the image immediately burned into my mind.

His clothes ripped apart and all his body turned silver and more muscular than usual. His nails became longer, like claws and his fangs were out in all their menacing glory. His eyes were not silver… they were red. On his back, two magnificent and enormous wings came to life. Like the rest of his body, they were covered by silver scales but lined with red, matching his eyes. On the top, where they bent, there was a deadly black spike.

Was it wrong that all this felt like such a turn on to me? It should be considered some kind of bestiality… I felt so… wrong!

There was also a tail… A long one, its top lined with spikes.

“Let’s go!”

At least his voice didn’t change.

I barely had time to process what was happening – Loki grabbed me by the waist and flew into the night air. It is important to have in mind that I’m everything but a lightweight, so I can’t exactly explain how he did that.

The wind on my face felt amazing and for a moment I even forgot the nightmare that was going on. The sound of Loki’s wings’ flapping into the night air was almost soothing and, unexpectedly, I felt him kissing the back of my head just before he started descending.

We landed softly on the sanatorium’s roof and from there I could even see the cage where they kept the vampires until the sunrise. It was filled with burned flesh as always. These people didn’t even care about cleaning the mess they made.

“I would ask you for a moment to process all this information but I fear we don’t have time for that,” I whispered.

“You’ll have time to process everything later.”

It was so strange to see those red eyes… I was already used to silver but red… that was a whole new universe.

“Do you know where he is?” I asked, referring to Fenrir.

“Yes, but I can’t risk communication now. If these people suspect something we’ll lose our surprise effect.”

“And where are the others? When I saw all of you together I thought everyone was coming.”

“They are surrounding the area and making sure all the guards leave this place.” I frowned at that. “They won’t kill them… They will just hypnotise them and make them leave. When they ‘wake up’ they will already be too far away.” I merely nodded still not sure about what I was about to witness. “Ready?”

“No. But I don’t have a choice so do whatever you need to do.”

The smile on his face was wicked and lethal and I knew the night would not end well for some people.

Crouching down, we crawled along the roof until we were right above the interrogation room. I assumed Fenrir was there and for a moment I could see the pained look on Loki’s face.

“Is it too bad?”

“Yes,” he sighed. “They will pay for this.”

All of a sudden, he lifted his right fist into the air and then collided it violently against the roof tiles. The surface beneath us collapsed and he grabbed me by my waist as we fell down, crouching over me as we reached the floor until the tiles stopped falling onto us.

He didn’t have a single scratch. I figured his scales were like armour. 

When we stood up, I could see four dumbfounded faces staring right back at us. Adam and Eve, Mr. Sunrise and Dr. Daylight. What a family of losers with their stupid pseudonyms. 

Then there was Fenrir, tied to a chair with silver chains. I understood why Loki reacted the way he did when I asked him about Fen… In fact I couldn’t understand how it was possible for the poor vampire to be still alive.

His mouth was filled with his own blood and I could see that it came from the violent extraction of one of his main fangs. The chains were so tight that it seemed like they were slowly ripping him apart. He was severely beaten up and then there was his missing eye… Then it came to me that Loki had to be under excruciating pain in that moment. 

“Good evening… scum.”

“He’s… h-h-he’s real!” Mr. Sunrise shouted. “I told you he was real!”

“Oh yes… and I can assure you that you are all about to witness just how real I am.”

“Who are you?” Eve dared to ask.

“I am Loki of the Northern Dragon Nest. And I am here to take my progeny away from this filthy lair of yours and to avenge every vampire you violated all these years.”

“We were prepared for this,” she continued. I have to admit that I admired her guts.

“Oh no, woman. You were not prepared for us. I can guarantee you,” he chuckled wickedly.

“Guards!” Mr. Sunrise yelled. For his surprise, instead of the guards, Angrboda came in, also in her dragon form. Contrary to Loki’s, her scales were dark red, even darker than blood itself.

“Save your voice young man. You’re probably going to need it later. Someone will make you scream.”

“What have you done to them?” Adam asked. In the meantime, Loki asked me to free Fenrir and I rushed to him.

“Oh do not worry, I am not like you. They are alive. Terribly scared but alive. They are probably miles away already.”

“Liar. They would not abandon us.”

“Do you want to go and check it?”

Through the second door came Helblindi and, like that, these sick people had nowhere to run.

“Fen… it’s me. You’re going to be all right. We’ll get you out of here.”

“Mmh… thank you.” He managed to say as he fell into my arms the second I freed him. Loki nodded and motioned for me to wait a moment. 

“Poor woman… you thought you could beat something that you will never understand. That is so disrespectful…” Angrboda stated.

“Although you have to recognise that at least these ones did some research,” Loki continued, mockingly. “The problem is that they didn’t believe what they actually needed to believe in. That ancient vampires are real. And when we get mad… not even a silver bullet can pass through these scales.”

“Is it even worth it to beg for our lives?” Mr. Sunrise asked, receiving murderous looks from the others.

Loki’s lopsided grin was there again.

“Well… I have to admit that I’ve always loved to hear scum like you begging. Kneel.”

Eve scoffed. “No way, you devil.”

“I said kneel. And maybe I can be… benevolent, when I think about what we’re going to do with you.”

“I have no fear of death.”

“KNEEL!” He shouted and within a second he was by her side forcing her down on her knees. The others quickly followed, not needing such an incentive.

“Good. Now, where were we? Ah, sure! Ancient vampires. It was really foolish of you to mess with our progenies. There is one particular vampire in our nest who is very, very displeased with your behaviour. You see, one thing that I explained to young Thor a long time ago was that bonding in the vampire world is a very serious subject. We do not behave the same way you do. When we bond with one another, we can feel everything the other feels. Especially pain. So… the strongest bond, as you know because you read about it, is between a master and his progeny so you’re probably happy that whenever you inflict pain in one vampire, you actually hit at least two of them. Maybe now you won’t be happy if I told you that some vampires whose progeny you killed are waiting outside.”

“One of them is my own progeny,” Angrboda intervened, “and I can assure you that I taught her well!”

“You see, whilst you humans are constantly stabbing each other in the back, that doesn’t happen with such frequency in the vampire world. When we’re bonded, especially in a nest, we act as one. Always. However… when we get mad, no matter if it’s with a foreign vampire or any human being, then things can turn… nasty. And you, poor people, you chose to mess with my progeny. Very, very wrong choice, in my opinion.”

“We didn’t know who he was,” Mr. Sunrise had the nerve to state in a trembling voice.

“You haven’t been listening to what I’m telling you!” Loki shouted losing his nerve. “I know everything he told you before we arrived here. He told you I was his maker and he told you about the nest. It just made you hurt him even more! So don’t you dare telling me you didn’t know! I felt everything and I heard what he said and what you people said to him in return.”

Mr. Sunrise turned his eyes to the floor then, whispering some words I did not understand.

“Now. Anybody has any questions?” Nobody dared to say a word.


	16. Chapter 16

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Welllllllllll this is back! I'm going to hide in a corner in shame for a moment...

As instructed, I picked one of Bright Sun’s cars to drive Fenrir back to the nest. He was in bad shape… It was really weird for me to see someone with so many wounds and still alive. However, I knew that if I wasn’t quick enough things could start going downhill for real, even though he was a vampire…

“Hang on Fen… Please… just 20 minutes.”

I only got a deep grunt in return.

Fenrir needed blood. Urgently. I would give him my own but I knew he wouldn’t drink it. I also didn’t know how Loki would react to that so I didn’t even ask. Deep down I felt relieved when the ancient vampire told me to get out of the sanatorium and take Fenrir home. I’d definitely had enough of seeing blood and violence for one day. Well… maybe for the whole year at least.

I didn’t know what Loki and the others would do with those people but I imagined it wouldn’t be something easy to see… Loki must have felt my discomfort so he came up with a good reason for me to leave immediately.

Midway to the nest I noticed the bandage Fenrir held close to the hole that used to contain his eye was disgusting and filled with blood so I took it off and tossed it on the back seat. He was so pale… Touching his bare arm, I noticed he was as cold as ice.

“Shit! Fucking shit… don’t you die on me…” I whispered, doubting that the nearly broken vampire could even hear me.

When we arrived, I stopped the car abruptly, hearing a grunt from besides me. Well, he was still alive at least.

“Sorry about that… but we’re finally here, come on!”

Once I managed to get Fenrir inside, I sat him on the sofa and rushed to the kitchen where I knew the bottled blood would be. After opening a bottle, I placed a plastic straw into it, hoping it would be easier for that way.

“There you go…” I murmured, holding the bottle close to the vampire’s mouth. He started drinking it slowly and I could only imagine how hurtful it would be to swallow, but the more he drank, the quicker he swallowed it.

“Another… please…” He managed to say in a very hoarse and cracked voice. Well, the fact that he was already able to talk had to mean something good, right?

*

Hours passed, and there was no sign of Loki. It was almost four in the morning so they had to be at the nest in two hours more or less. Fenrir was already asleep but at least he seemed to be safe. He drank six bottles of blood and then practically passed out on the couch. I have to admit I panicked slightly at the sudden “knock out” but I knew he wasn’t dead. Strangely, I could feel it, even though I didn’t have an explanation on how I could exactly feel something like that… Especially since vampires don’t breathe in their sleep.

I was actually dozing off on the couch next to Fenrir when Loki arrived.

Thankfully he arrived alone and in his human form. I didn’t think I could stand having to sit with the other three right then… Especially in their unusual forms.

“Everything alright?” I dared to ask.

“Yes… I won’t go into details, don’t worry. They are alive though…” His eyes settled on Fenrir then.

“I was waiting for you to take him to his basement. I didn’t want to risk falling down the stairs with him on my shoulders. He drank a lot and he seems better… but he’s out of his senses…” Loki approached his progeny, pushing his red hair back with his fingers in an almost fatherly way. “His eye… it’s lost forever, right?” I asked just above a whisper.

Loki sighed. “We can recover from wounds… deep wounds. But we can’t grow back eyes. Or limbs, or fingers… So, yes, it’s lost.”

“Well… I guess we have to find him a cool eye patch,” I smiled despite myself.

With no further words, Loki effortlessly lifted Fenrir from the couch and onto his shoulders. I frowned and felt somewhat ashamed that I didn’t even attempt to lift him before.

“Don’t you need help?” I offered.

“Please, Thor… He’s a lightweight.”

“Yeah… sure…”

Frowning further, I followed them down the stairs until Loki carefully placed the sleeping vampire on his bed.

“I’m just winding you up. You did well to wait for me. People don’t use the terms ‘dead weight’ for nothing…”

I just snorted, not wanting to feel even more humiliated.

“So… where are the others?”

“They are still at the sanatorium. There were some vampires still alive but it isn’t wise to release them straight away… They are hungry and they would drain whoever crossed their way. So they are taking care of that. Feeding them until they recover. After they sleep the day, they should be alright.”

“What about those people? Adam and Eve and Mr. Sunrise?” I was afraid of the answer, but I needed to know. After all, whatever happened… it was partially my own fault.

“It wasn’t your fault…” He said, reading my mind as usual. I was following him out of Fenrir’s basement and into his own. “You did something you were forced to do.”

“But I wanted to do it…” I said more to myself than to him, as I sat on his bed bemused at my own thoughts. “What they were doing was wrong on so many levels… But to imagine that those people are dead because-“

“They’re not dead, Thor.”

“No?”

“Well... She is. She pushed Angrboda’s buttons too far… She wasn’t cooperating so…”

Oh… Well, she certainly was a bitch and she didn’t seem to be the redeeming type so it’ no surprise. However, the fact that I had been a fundamental piece of someone’s death was a hard pill to swallow…

After taking off his boots, Loki sits beside me and just feeling him there sends a shiver down my spine. I know what he wants and it makes me feel all warm inside. I highly doubt I have a reasonable reaction nowadays, but whenever he wants to feed, I experience the exact same feeling as when I’m about to have sex. How could I even imagine that something like this could be such an arousal?

“Are you ready for me, Thor?” He breathes against my neck, hi hands already buried in my hair.

“Can’t wait any longer…”

*

I wake up in the early hours of the afternoon, feeling cold and uncomfortable. Sleeping with a vampire is like sleeping in a refrigerator… I must have been really tired to be able to rest for such a long time like that. Shivering, I get up in search for a blanket in the wardrobe. Luckily there are even two of them! I grab them and put them around me as I make my way to the bathroom.

As I look at my reflection in the mirror (yes, they have mirrors… the myth that they have no reflection in nothing but that… a myth) the thought that I have to look for a job comes to my mind. 

Shit.

How can I find something that is compatible with my relationship with Loki?

Wait?

Relationship? Did I really think it? Can he hear me in his sleep? Because if he can maybe he’ll start laughing.


	17. AUTHOR'S NOTES

Hi everyone!

Just to say that the story is over for good. Not sure if anyone's waiting for something or not but I struggled to have new chapter after a particular comment but after that... nothing happened. Writers of this particular thing "live" for comments to take them away from the real world for a bit, whether we admit it or not. So... If anyone's been waiting (which I highly doubt anyway) I'm very sorry...

xoxo


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